
Class r_-5~*?r^ _ 
Book-AiW.5 



/ 

EVANSVILLE 



' 






AND 



ITS MEN OF MARK. 



" Labor Omnia Vinoit." 



EVANSVILLE, INDIANA: 
HISTORICAL PUBLISHING COMPANY, 

PUBLISHERS. 

18 7 3. 






evansville journal company, 

Steam Printers, Binders and Stationers, 

Evansville, Indiana. 









W/wm sympathy and assistance have ever cheered me 
in the prosecution of this work, 
THIS VOLUME 
is respectfully dedicated, 

By the Editor, 



EDWARD WHITE. 

EVANBVILLE, IND., 1873. 




SALETA EVANS. 



fVefkde. 



j^T is with the greatest solicitude that the Editor offers this 
. volume to the public ; as he fears he may not be able 
to do adequate justice to the subjects — the sketches of whom 
appear in this work. But since he has devoted much time and 
labor to the prosecution of this enterprise, he presents it to the 
citizens, as the best he was able, under the circumstances, to 
compile, trusting that a general allowance will be made for all 
its blemishes and imperfections. 

The History contains several sketches of parties, who, not 
residing in Evansville, live in this section of the State, and 
whose interest in the Crescent City has been such as to materi- 
ally advance it as an educational and business center. 

Our thanks are tendered to the old citizens of Evansville 
and Southern Indiana, for much valuable information ; and we 
trust that future generations will not forget the men, to whom 
Evansville is indebted for its rapid rise trom a frontier settle- 
men c to a prosperous and wealthy city. 

THE EDITOR. 

Evansville, Ini>.. 1873. 



Contents. 



PAGE. 

ALLIS.H. D 95 

ARCHER, DA VTD 400 

BAKER, WM 16 

BAYARD, SAMUET 84 

BEADLE, J. H 126 

BOWLES, .1. B 166 

BLOUNT, H. F SO 

BUCHANAN. J. S 91 

BTTTTERFIELD, OHAS. H 100 

i !A LDWELL, WM '29 

CHANDLER, W. H 31 

CHANDLER, J. J 35 

COOK, F . W 4(i 

CARPENTER, W1LLARD 326 

COMPTON, J. W 192 

CLOUD, H. W 137 

COMMUNITY LIFE 215 and 236 

DECKER, C 77 

DIXON, ARCHIBALD 154 

DeBRULER, J. P 300 

DEXTER, H. T 63 

DYER, AZRO 101 

DONALD, A. C 82 

DEVIN, JOSEPH 407 

DODGE, J. V 1 12 

EVANSVILLE- HISTORY 9 

EVANS. R. M 12 

EVANSVILLE JOURNAL 851 

EVANSVILLE COURIER....: .. . 363 

E8TE8, B . B 401 

ELLEd, AUGUST IS 

EHRMAN, E. J 51 

EMBREE. ELISHA 369 

EVANSVILLE HOME FOR THE 

FRIEND LESS 879 

ELS as, JACOB 306 

K08TEU, M. W 72 

FOGG, !•' IS 259 

PRICK, J. K 185 

FRENCH, W. E 416 



PAGE. 

G-OW, A . M 67 

GLOVER, J. F !>8 

GOODING. H. C 120 

HISTORICAL ' 9 

HORNBROOK, P 78 

HOWE, W 103 

HAAS 1 73 

HAMILTON, ALLEN 14M 

B EIDELB ACH, P 303 

HEILMAN, WM 25 

HERR, L. S 61 

HARGRAVE, W. P 123 

HYNES, BLYTHE 206 

HAZEN, A 199 

HALL SAMUEL 130 

INGLE,.!. Jr 203 

IGLEHART, ASA 54 

JONES, J. G 44 

JOHNSON, M. S 39 

JOHNSON, A 94 

JOHNSON. E. E 379 

JAQUE88, J 402 

JERAL V LD, W... 42I 

KLEINER. J.J ll'j 

KRATZ, C 418 

LOCKHART, .1 83 

LAW, JOHN 88 

LANE, JOSEPH SO 

LO( K WO< I D, J . M 97 

LAIRD, D. T 19;; 

L'HOMM IDIKTI, s. S ;«■_' 

LEWIS, Dr. ANDREW 383 

l,o\VUY, w. J 358 

LINDEN8CHMIDT BROTHERS.. 129 
LINDLKY BROTHERS 405 

McNEELY, JAMES H lid 

MT. VERNON REPUBLICAN..., 874 

MATTISON.H. A 18'J 

MARCONNIER, A 896 

MARSH,!'. E 414 

MORGAN, D 00 



Evansville and its Mm of Mark. 



PAGE 

NORTON, Q. W 1™ 

NEW HARMONY— SOCIAL 

EXPERIMENT 215 and 236 



O'RILEY, P.O. 



90 

OWEN, ROBERT 215, 236 and 371 

OWEN, DAVID PALE 318 

OWEN, ROBERT DALE.. 215 and 136 

OWEN, RICHARD 319 

PRINCETON CLARION 373 

PARRETT, W. F <>■>_ 

PHELPS, A. M ' 20 ~ 

PATTEN, II. H ^ l ' 2 

PITCHER, JOHN *06 

PLUMER, HORACE 317 

ROWLEY, NATHAN :;T 

RffiLKER, I. H 52 

REAVIS.WM 324 

RBIS, A 2°° 

SH Eli WOOD, MARCUS 14 

SHERWOOD, PIUIDEN'E 138 

SHANKLIN. JOHN 19 

STEPHENS, SII.AS 22 



PAGE. 

SC.ANTLIN, THOMAS.' 69 

8TOCKWELL, ROBERT Ml 

SMITH. E. Q 49 

SAUNDERS, 3 P 125 

SHARPE PETER 2ul 

8TINSON. 1 B S77 

SHACK El FORH. .T. M 1° 4 

SORENSON, SOREN 70 

408 

398 

393 

189 



SOHREEDER, ' . C 

STANAKE, .1. I- 

SILVERTHORN..I. N 

SIR l , SER, H. M 

SOUTHERN INDIANA IN THE 
WAR 



VAN RIPER, E. G. 

Vi'.NKM \NN. T .. 



H 



WAL i H O. B 

\\ .\ ER, W 
\V i . EU, J . W • 
WA1 • N . -I . W 

WUEI II Q 



; 17 



w& 



196 
108 
397 

ill 
7.') 



yOUNGBLUOD, .1. W ^11 



Bijftori&l 



^N 1812, Hugh McGary, of Kentucky, came to the Ter" 
ritory of Indiana, and built a log-house on the present 
site of the original plat of Evansville. This primitive structure 
was the first dwelling erected by a white man in this section of 
the Territory. Previous to this settlement and for some years 
afterwards, an Indian village, of the Shawnee tribe, occasionally 
occupied the vicinity of Pigeon Creek, in dangerous proximity, 
but, on the whole, were not troublesome neighbors. In 1816, 
Gen. Robt. M. Evans and James W. Jones purchased that 
portion of the land, situated north of what is now known as 
Main street. McGary entered the land soon after his arrival, 
aud* had attempted to make a survey — and in fact had sold 
some portions of the tract to various parties ; Gen. Evans, how- 
ever, made another survey and had the premises platted, in 
order that there might be no trouble in the future. The town in 
embryo was called Evansville, at the earnest solicitation of the 
friends of that distinguished pioneer. The history of the village 
till 1818 is unknown ; but in that year Vanderburgh County 
was separated from Warrick, (to which it had previously been 
attached, for judicial and other purposes), and Evansville was 
designated as the County-seat. The ceremonies attending this 
event were not of the most imposing character, but yet the 
"original inhabitants" plumed themselves highly upon residing 
at the County-seat. 

The first election was held in August, 1818, when twenty- 
five votes were polled. In 1819 there were one hundred inhab- 
itants; and the village boasted of a tavern, kept by Ansel 
Wood, Esq. This was situated on Main street, (then called 
State Road), on the rear of the present site of Armstrong's 

2 



10 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

furniture salesroom. It was in 1819, a Frenchman opened a 
country store on the river bank. He was soon succeeded by a 
Mr. Armstrong and the Lewis Brothers. Their stock was scant 
but amply sufficient for the pioneers, to whom hard cash was a 
great rarity. 'Coon-skins, etc., formed the medium of exchange 
— not only with themselves but also with the outside world. 
In this same year Amos Clark took up his abode in the County 
seat, as a lawyer, and was soon appointed prosecuting attorney 
— for the criminal portion of the community (and it was very 
large) had particular views in regard to horses, cattle and hogs. 
President Monroe, in 1819, appointed Daniel Warner as post- 
master, and the village for the first time gained national recog. 
nition and had regular postal facilities, even though the mails 
arrived only once a week. 

In 1821, Rev. D. C. Banks, of Ohio, came to Evansville 
and endeavored to establish a Presbyterian organization ; after 
some delay, a society was formed and an effort was made to 
build a church. A lot on the corner of Second and Main 
streets was purchased for one hundred dollars and a small 
frame building was erected upon it. Luke Wood and William 
Olmstead were among the most prominent in securing the nec- 
essary aid, and this was mainly conditional that the church 
should be occupied in common by other religious denominations. 
In 1824, Mr. Banks was succeeded by Rev. John Phillips, of 
Vermont. Upon his arrival the building was put in better 
order ; benches where placed along the side and the further end 
of the room was adorned with a pulpit that is said to have 
resembled a "settlers' stockade." Mr. Phillips was diligent in 
doing good ; spent little or no time in discussing dogmas, and 
was ever a watchful shepherd in his care over the morality of 
his flock, rather than their sectarian bias. 

The first justice of the peace was Prestly Pritchett, who 
was elected in 1822. He was a successful magistrate, and 
looked diligently alter the pecuniary and criminal difficulties 
of the times. 

In 1824, a small brick school-house was erected on the 
south-west corner of Third and Main streets. Mr. Chute, an 
elderly gentleman was appointed teacher. He, as early as 
1818, had occasionally received pupils at his cabin ; but now 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 11 

for the first time, a school was held, to which all could send 
children, hitherto, for the most part, unprotected with regular 
educational privileges. The school-house was regularly used 
for religious purposes ; Rev. Mr. Wood, a Presbyterian minis- 
ter often preached there, as well as clergymen of other denom- 
inations 

For several years various buildings had been used as a jail 
by Lansing Warner, the first sheriff, who also acted as jailor. 
Finally, after some considerable difficulty, a jail was erected on 
the southeast corner of Third and Main streets, and for many 
years the building was used for that purpose. The first public 
execution took place in 1821. A man by the name of Harvey 
was executed for killing Robinson. The criminal was buried in 
the rear of the north-west corner of Third and Main streets. 

In the Spring of 1825, Dr. Wm, Trafton arrived, and soon 
was engaged in fighting the "fever and ager," ever prevalent 
to an alarming degree in the village. Dr. Lane visited the 
village in the Fall, and a partnership was formed with Dr. 
Trafton which the settlers called the "Ager Board." The 
progress of the town was slow ; for in 1830 the population had 
only increased to five hundred, and the total tax levied was one 
hundred and fifty-five dollars — thirty-six dollars less than the 
first assessment in 1819. On the 27th of January, 1847, the 
city, having a population of four thousand, was incorporated and 
received a special charter from the Legislature. The entire 
property was valued at about nine hundred thousand dollars, 
and the total taxes levied amounted to about three thousand 
three hundred and twenty dollars — about the salary of the 
mayor, at the present time. From this period may be dated 
the rapid advancement of Evansville in population and wealth. 

Having thus only prefaced the early history of Evansville, 
we will call attention to the men who made their 'mark" 
while important events were transpiring ; outlinging the various 
stages of her progress from a village of three cabins to the 
position it occupies to-day — as the leading commercial city of 
Indiana. 



General Robert M. Evans. 

FOUNDER OP EVANSVTTjLE. 



_l§y lN a few years the men who were personally acquainted 
^M> with General Evans will all have passed away. It is 
known to most of our citizens that General Evans was the pio- 
neer who began a settlement in the woods on the banks of the 
Ohio River ; but beyond that little is known to the world at 
large of the life of one, around whose name clusters so many 
glorious recollections nnd memorable associations. 

General Robert Morgan Evans was born in 1873, in 
Frederick County, Virginia. "While a small boy his family 
removed to Botetourt County, where he remained till 1790, 
From thence, removed to Tazewell County, where, though only 
a lad of some seventeen years of age, he acted as deputy clerk. 
In 1803 he moved to Paris, Bourbon County, Kentucky; and 
here his union with Jane Trimble, a sister of Judge Robert 
Trimble, of the Supreme Court of the United States, took 
place. In 1805 he moved, with his family, to the Indiana Ter- 
ritory and settled in the woods, on a tract of land two miles 
north of where the town of Princeton now stands. At the first 
sale of Government lands, in 1807, he purchased the tract he 
had settled upon, and there continued to reside till 1809, when 
he moved to Vincenues to keep a hotel in a farm house on 
Market street. This was the favorite stopping-place of all the 
old citizens of Indiana. He remained in Vincennes two years, 
and then removed back to his first location in Gibson County. 

In the war of 1812, the surrender of Hull left the north- 
western frontier exposed to the incursions of the British and 
Indians, and occasioned considerable alarm in the adjoining 
State; Nearly ten thousand volunteers immediately offered 
their services to the Government, and being placed under the 




MRS. EVANS. 




GEN. EVANS. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 13 

command of Gen. Wm. H. Harrison, were marched toward the 
Territory of Michigan. Our subject had joined Harrison im- 
mediately on his taking command of the army and was appointed 
by the General as one of his aids He proved such an efficient 
officer that he was appointed by Gen. Harrison as a Brigadier 
General and placed in command of a large body of militia, 
both from Indiania and other territories. General Evans partic- 
ipated in the battles of the Thames, Tippecanoe, and other less 
important engagements, and had the reputation of being one of 
the best officers in the army — not only on account of his bravery, 
but also his sagacity and ability as a leader. He had the mis- 
fortune to lose his brother William, who was killed by the 
Indians in one of the skirmishes which preceeded Tippecanoe. 

Little else is known of our subject on that campaign. We 
note that on his return to Gibson County he was elected county 
clerk, the duties of which he continued to fill till October, 1819, 
when he resigned. While living in Gibson County, he was 
instrumental in forming the County of Vanderburgh, named 
alter Gen. Vanderburgh, a celebrated Indian-fighter. He also 
purchased in connection with James W. Jones, the land upon 
which all Evansville north of the State Road, (Main street,) is 
situated, and founded the city which bears his name ; was the 
means of Evansville being the seat of justice, and to him and 
his copartners we owe the Court-house square. 

In 1824, Gen. Evans removed to Evansville and remained 
only one year. He watched over his namesake carefully, and 
though the following year he removed to Princeton, he yet re- 
tained his love for the city whose inhabitants regarded him as 
the father of the ''Crescent Village." 

During the Fourier excitement, which resulted in the 
founding of New Harmony, he proceeded there, and was en- 
gaged in keeping a hotel in the village for one year, and the 
remaining portion of the time was engaged in farming, till the 
Fall (it 1828, when he removed to Evansville; continuing his 
residence here till the time of his death, in 1844. His estima- 
ble lady died four years before him. The distinguished pioneer 
was not permitted the proud privilege of witnessing the present 
growth, beauty, wealth and dignity of the city that he, with 
wondrous sagacity, planted so many years ago. 



14 Evansville and its Men of Mark, 

He was a man of sterling integrity, and a radical advocate 
of the right. In stature, General Evans was above six feet ; 
and, with a smooth-shaved face, small hands and feet, and 
with an open expression of countenance, his personal appear- 
ance was such as to attract the attention and admiration of all. 
Kind and affable in his disposition ; possessed of rare conver- 
sational powers, in his declining years he enjoyed the friend- 
ship and veneration of all who knew him. 



Marcus Sherwood, Esq. 



^©ta^EW, if any, of our citizens have struggled more per- 
"^JjgQ sistently or successfully than Marcus Sherwood, from 
the time of arrival in Evansville up to the present day. 

He was born in Munroe, Fairfield County, Oonneticut, on 
the 28th of May, 1803. His father, David Sherwood,' Esq, 
was a stone-mason by trade, and was, at one time, a member of 
the Legislature. Marcus, like most New England boys of that 
age, attended school in the Winter and assisted his father in the 
Summer, His father wished to apprentice him to a blacksmith ; 
but the young lad bad no desire to learn that trade, but prefer- 
red to go West — as his uncle had just returned from a visit to 
Indiana, and Marcus was delighted with the accounts of his 
adventures in those distant regions. 

After considerable pleading with his people, he started for 
his new home with his uncle, driving an ox-team for fifty-eight 
days ; when they reached Pittsburgh, both men and animals 
were nearly worn out. His uncle and friends purchased a fiat- 
boat, loaded it with their effects, and, after a long voyage, ar- 
rived in Evansville on the 6th of June, 1819. 




MARCUS SHERWOOD. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 15 

Marcus was now thrown upon his own resources ; and hav- 
ing less than two dollars in his pockets, he went bravely to 
work, earning the reputation of a "first class hand." From 
working as a day laborer for fifty cents a day, he gradually 
acquired means sufficient to enable him to buy a flat-boat with 
which' he made twenty-eight trips to New Orleans, as deck-hand 
and proprietor. The business was profitable, and the capital 
thus earned was invested in real estate, thereby laying the 
foundation of his present wealth. 

He was married in 1834, to Miss Prudence Johnson, the 
eldest daughter of Alexander John.son, Esq. We regret to say 
that this estimable lady died in 1870, deeply regretted by all. 

Mr. S. was one of the advocates and contractors of the 
Canal and the Levee ; and to him great credit is due for the 
excellent public work so admirably performed by him. The 
Sherwood House was constructed by him, at the time when the 
people generally doubted the success of the undertaking. Mr. 
S , throughout his entire career — every active and faithful — 
retained the confidence of the entire community. Now one of 
the wealthiest of our citizens, his time and means have been 
liberally given to foiward the interests of the Cumberland 
Church and its colleges. Ever generous to the needy — either 
at home or abroad ; a kind friend, and an irreproachable citi- 
zen ; such is Marcus Sherwood ; than whom Evansville has no 
better. 




Hon. William Baker. 



\F all the leading men whose energy and ability have 
been potent in building up the Crescent City and 
advancing its interests, it is fair to say that none take rank 
before the Hon. William Baker. 

He was born in Hamilton, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, 
on the 11th of February, 1813. His father, Conrad Baker, was 
a farmer, and was noted for his enterprise and public spirit. 
The Bakers were of German origin ; and the inter-marriage of 
Conrad Baker with Maty Winterheimer infused, also, a com- 
mingling of the Scotch-Iiish element with the German stock — 
her mother being of German and Scotch-Irish descent. 

His early education was obtained at a little log school by 
the road-side, not far from the boundary of his father's farm. 
This, however, was ouly of short duration ; as, in his thirteenth 
year, he entered the store of George Eyster, of Chambersburgh, 
Pennsylvania, and served him for about three years. This 
experience in that establishment, no doubt, laid the foundation 
of his business character and his habits, so marked in after life 
Before leaving the village, wishing to improve his mind and 
add to his limited education he attended a Latin school, at 
Chambersburgh, for about six months ; and this was the last 
instruction William received at school. 

In his eighteenth year he went to the village of Bridge- 
port, in his native county, and was employed by Martin Hoover 
as a clerk in his store; He remained with Mr. Hoover nearly 
three years, during which time he formed the acquaintance of 
Miss Nancy Beam, whom he married in 1833, a few months 
before he attained the age of twenty-one years. 

While residing at Bridgeport, he studied surveying and 
civil engineering, under the instruction of Major James McDow- 




HON. WILLIAM BAKER. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. . 17 

ell, and became a good practical surveyor. In 1834, he com- 
menced farming on the old homestead, as his parents were 
dead — the father having deceased in 1818, and the mother the 
year previous. During the Winter of 1834-5, he taught a 
country school in the neighborhood, not far irom the farm. In 
the Fall of 1835, he sold the property and opened a general 
store at St. Thomas, in the same county. In 1837, he moved 
to Loudon, a village in the same county, and, in company with 
Daniel Mowrer, his brother-in-law, conducted a woolen mill and 
store for about four years. He then formed a partnership with 
John Beaver, in the manufacture of iron, and managed a fur- 
nace and forge, owned by Mr Beaver, for nearly two years. 
While engaged in the latter enterprise, he established the Lou- 
don Savings Fund Association, and was treasurer of the same 
till his removal to Evansville. 

In the year 1839, while actively engaged in business, Mr. 
Baker devoted his leisure hours to the study of law, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1842. His practice soon became very 
large and lucrative. In 1847, '48, and '49, he was elected to 
represent his native county in the lower house of the Pennsyl- 
vania Legislature, and soon obtained a reputation as one of the 
leading and influential members of that body. He continued 
to practice law in his native village until 1853, when he removed 
to Evansville, where his brother Conrad had taken his residence, 
in 1841. 

Soon after his arrival he was chiefly instrumental in organ- 
izing the Crescent City Bank, of which he was elected cashier. 
A considerable portion of the stock was taken by his old neigh- 
bors in Pennsylvania, on the strength of the assurance that he 
was to be cashier of the institution. Owing to the defective 
free-banking system, the affairs of the association were settled 
in 1858-9, without loss to the stockholders. In April, 1859, 
William Baker was elected Mayor of Evansville for three years, 
and held this position for three consecutive terms. In 1868, he 
was defeated for the same office by the late Hon. William H. 
Walker. Mr. Walker having died, Mr. Baker was, in Novem- 
ber, elected to fill the vacancy. In 1871 he was again elected, 
by a large majority, to a full term of three years — showing that 
his fidelity to the city's interests and business capacity were 
3 



18 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

appreciated by his fellow-citizens. His official career was ter- 
minated only by bis death, which occurred on the 23d of May, 
1872 : and thus died one of the brightest ornaments of that 
cluster of great men, whose histories are indissolubly linked 
with that of the Orescent City ! 

As husband and wife, Mr. and Mrs. Baker lived together 
nearly thirty-nine years; and while they have accomplished 
much good for the children of others, have never been blessed 
with any of their own. In 1837, he and his wife connected 
themselves with the Lutheran Church, of St. Thomas, of which 
his parents were members, During their residence in this city 
they have been members of the Walnut Street Presbyterian 
Church. 

William Baker was noted, intellectually, for possessing a 
logical mind and sound judgment. His mechanical genius was 
very great, as also his aptitude with tools ; and it is said that 
he never failed in any effort to construct anything of eithe 
wood, leather, or iron. 

William Baker was a great man, in the true sense of the 
term ; his motto was . " Anything that is worth doing at all, ' • 
worth doing well." The logical character of his mind woulu 
never permit him to sleight the least important detail ; and tiue 
conscientious fidelity to duty and the perfection of workmanship 
would force him to employ hour after hour, in the silent watcl ds 
of the night to labors which, to many, seemed of minor impor- 
tance, but which he ever regarded as essential to the successful 
completion of the work in hand. His kindness to the poor was 
proverbial, and his feelings were easily aroused — either v ith 
pity for suffering, or indignation at injustice and wrong. He 
was an especial friend of the Public Schools, of which he, at 
one time, assumed the superintendency, in addition to his other 
arduous labors. William Baker's skill and energy have erected 
monuments which are enduring to his memory, in our system 
of sewers; most of our paved streets ; many of our school- 
houses, and other memorials of his faithfulness, prudence, and 
financial tact, 




JOHN SHANKLIN. 



John Skanklin, 



Retired Mebchant. 



JS^IJRUT few of our prominent citizens have acquired their 
"^p^j^ W ealth by inheritance. Those who have made their 
mark in law, commerce, or finance, here, commenced life's duties 
with only the capital of Energy and Industry to guarantee them 
success in the strife for fortune and happiness. Of this class 
was John Shanklin, Esq., now one of our most influential 
citizens. 

He was born near Derry, Donegal County, Ireland, on the 
17th of February, 1796. His father, John Shanklin, Sr., was 
an Irish patriot, and perished in the Rebellion of '98, while 
fighting the oppressors of his beloved country. Our subject's 
education was such as farmers' boys usually receive in that 
country. In his thirteenth year he entered, as an apprentice, 
a general store at Donegal. He remained in this establishment 
till his eighteenth year, when he embarked for the United 
States, arriving at New York on the 5th of August, 1815. The 
voyage lasted six weeks, and although performed in a sailing 
vessel, was a rich treat for the young emigrant. 

He immediately entered the wholesale hardware establish- 
ment of Samuel and James Lambert, No. 23 Pearl Street, New 
York. After continuing with the Lamberts three years, he met 
a Mr. Miles — a hardware dealer, of Frankfort, Kentucky — who 
invited him to become a salesman at his establishment. He 
accepted the invitation, and the engagement was consummated. 

A few days after his arrival he met with an accident which 
resulted in the amputation of his right foot. After recovering 
from the operation, he relinquished his mercantile engagement 
and commenced teaching. He pursued this profession, with fair 
success, for the ensuing three years ; most of the time being 



20 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

employed in Shelbyville and vicinity. It was not long before 
his services secured for him a situation at Louisville, where he 
acted as a clerk in the extensive auction store of Robert J. 
Ormsby. After an interval of six months, Mr. 0. established 
Mr. Shanklin in the dry-goods business, at New Castle, Ken- 
tucky. Shortly after this Mr. Ormsby failed, and the young 
man felt it his duty to send back to Louisville all the goods 
received from his former employer- He was, by this misfortune, 
left without any property whatever, with the exception of a 
horse and saddle. His credit was as yet unimpaired, and he 
purchased a stock of goods at Shelbyville, Ky., and associated 
with himself a Mr. Moffatt, located at Hardenburgh, Kentucky. 
After an interval of six months, they removed to Evansville ; 
arriving there on the 3d of December, 1823. Finding that 
their stock was too large for Evansville, they divided the goods 
— Mr. Moffatt taking half, and removed to Cynthiana, Indiana, 
and Mr. Shanklin retained the balance at their store on the 
corner of Locust and Water streets, and continued there until 
1853. In 1827, the firm of Shanklin & Moffatt was dissolved, 
and our subject conducted the business, individually, till 1832. 

Few people have any idea of the wants of a new settle- 
ment, Staples were exchanged for produce of all kinds ; and 
this firm, for many years, did a large business in shipping to 
New Orleans, on flat-boats, and later by steamers, all that the 
farmers raised. John Shanklin's name was well known to the 
commission merchants of New Orleans as a symbol of honor; 
and in all his multifarious transactions, it never suffered stain. 

From 1832 to 1837, the business was conducted under the 
firm name of Shanklin & Co. Since 1837, the business has 
been managed under the style of Shanklin & Johnson, and 
Shanklin & Reilly. Under the latter title the business of the 
house was largely extended. 

On the 1st of January last, Mr. Shanklin retired from 
active business, and has devoted his time to the management of 
his private affairs. Mr. Shanklin has been active in every 
public enterprise, and his contributions to the religious and 
charitable institutions of Evansville have indicated the deep 
interest that he has taken in the welfare of the city. His esti- 
mable lady, whose name is a synonym of goodness and true 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 21 

womanliness, has the honor of being the founder, in Evansville. 
of our present flourishing Sunday Schools. To Mrs. Shanklin, 
the present generation owe a debt of gratitude for the interest 
she exhibited and the arduous labors she performed, in behalf 
of the religious wants of the youth of the " Orescent City." 
Her genial manners and kind disposition soon won the hearts of 
the children, and though the parents at first were reluctant to 
encourage and support the lady in her noble work, they finally 
became the warm friends of the Sabbath School — when they 
noticed that the children were the objects of her daily care, and 
that she watched over them with unflagging zeal, cheering their 
lonely hours by supplying them with instructive books, and 
often reminding them of their forgotten duties in relation to 
their Creator. 

Mr. and Mrs. Shanklin have long since past the meridian 
of life, but still take a lively interest in the present affairs of 
Evansville, and work as zealously as of old to promote the 
right ; comfort the distressed ; and scatter blessings with an 
open hand to the worthy poor. And thus, amid these noble 
deeds which will blossom in the years to come, their lives are 
floating peacefully toward the sea that rolls around all the 
world. 



Judge Silas Stephens 




3 AS born in Lexington, Kentucky, on the 24th of Feb- 
ruary, 1801. His father, David H. Stephens, settled 
in Kentucky in 1793, and was among the first settlers of Lex- 
ington. The village only contained, at that time, two shingle- 
roof houses and five log cabins with coverings of brush. There 
were many prowling Indians in the vicinity, and the settlers 
were forced to remain on guard at night, in order to protect 
their property. Mr. Stephens, before this time, had some con- 
siderable experience in fighting the Indians, directly after the 
close of the Revolution, and by reason of this service, was 
regarded as a hero by those pioneers. 

When Silas was two years of age, his father removed to 
Greenville, Nuhlemburgh County, Kentucky, and selected a 
fine tract of land, situated on the Green River, as his future 
home. Silas' mother" died when he was only six years of age, 
and he was deprived of many privileges which he might have 
secured, if his mother had lived. 

When Silas was nine years of age, Rev. Mr. Nelson, a 
Presbyterian minister, of Logan County, made a proposition to 
Mr. Stephens, that if he would commit Silas to his care, he 
would give him a classical education, with a view to his enter- 
ing the ministry. The boy was not consulted in this matter, 
but, in accordance with his father's request, he proceeded to 
Logan County, and remained there two years. Instead of being 
a student and doing " chores," he was worked severely, from 
early morn till late at night. His father had again married, 
and another situation was sought for the lad. A saddler, at 
Russellville, wished a bound-boy, and articles of apprentice- 
ship were drawn up ; and now, at the age of twenty-one, his 
destiny seemed to be settled. The new master was kind, and 




JUDGE SILAS STEPHENS. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 23 

though he only gave Silas three months' schooling while he 
remained with him, nevertheless he was a good friend and care- 
ful guardian of the young man. 

In 1822, Silas came to Evansville ; as his brother, about 
two years previous, had settled in the country about four miles 
from the village. This brother was a tanner, and also a farmer; 
and as our subject was now a good saddler, his brother offered 
him thirty-seven and one-half cents a day, (to be paid in trade) 
if he would work for him. Silas proposed to work for twenty- 
five cents a day, in cash ; but as the latter article was rarely 
seen in the embryo city, the proposition was declined. 

In the Winter of 1822-3, he, however, came to town and 
worked for a saddler. Being economical in his habits, though 
only receiving little remuneration for hard work, in the Spring 
of 1823, he found he had saved one hundred and sixty-two 
dollars. He also, about this time, carried on a saddler's store 
at Princeton, Indiana ; but still having a great desire to make 
his home at Evansville, he removed here, and opened an estab- 
lishment, extensive for those days. His brother managed the 
the tannery in the country, while he manufactured 
the leather into saddles, harness, and even boots and shoes. The 
business was large and lucrative, and upon dissolving the part- 
nership in 1836, the handsome sum of twenty-eight thousand 
dollars, in land, notes, and other valuables, was divided be- 
tween them. 

In 1837, in connection with his father-in-law, Gen. Evans, 
he erected a steam saw and planing mill. The business was 
very profitable and the mill was rapidly paying for itself, when 
it was accidentally burned in 1841. The hanks generously 
offered Mr. S. the money to re-build, but he concluded to settle 
up his affairs and not go into debt. 

In 1846, he was elected to an unexpired term as Associate- 
Judge of the Circuit Court. Upon the expiration of his term 
of office, he was re-elected to the same position. Though not 
having a legal education, by patient study and a determination 
to master the law, he soon became familiar with the duties of 
his position, and proved himself and able and successful official. 
Before his second term had expired, the Legislature changed 



24 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

the character of the courts, and the associate-judges were 
retired from office. 

In 1829, he was married to Miss Julienne Evans, daughter 
of Gen. Evans. On the 15th of March, 1845, Mrs. Stephens 
died — following soon after the decease of her lamented father. 
This estimable lady will long be remembered as a woman of 
practical piety — ever anxious to contribute to the necessities of 
all with whom she came in contact. 

After retiring from the bench, Judge Stephens gave up his 
residence on the corner of Water and Walnut streets, and it 
was used afterwards as a hotel. The Judge boarded at the 
hotel — remaining in the city in orler to have his children 
educated. In 1857, he removed to Walnut Grove, about three 
miles from the city, where he since has made it his home. This 
beautiful place, so called from the magnificent groves of timber 
situated thereon, is one of the most picturesque and inviting 
country-seats in the vicinity of the city. The diversity of til- 
lage, with meadow and timber, is not only pleasant to the eye, 
but, in an agricultural point of view, forms an excellent com- 
bination rarely met with in this section of the State. To the 
management of this extensive estate, in connection with his 
city and country property, Judge Stephens bestows his undi- 
vided attention — though yet retaining an unwearied interest 
in the progress of his early home. 

For several years Judge Stephens was a trustee of the 
town, and in that capacity proved an efficient guardian of the 
rising village He was noted for his indefatigable industry in 
behalf of the levee; improvement of the streets , and the pru- 
dent management of the town's financial affairs. 

The prosperity, which it is hoped may be long enjoyed by 
him, is the product of his industry and ability : and may the 
revolving seasons permit him to reap the full benefit of his 
nobly-earned happiness. 



Hon. Wm. Heilman. 



J&M tN the life of a man of business, we do not expect to find 
%m) the achievements of the military hero, or the sublime 
passages of the eloquent statesman. But there is a fascination 
in tracing the life of a poor boy, step by step, as he advances 
in his career toward wealth and influence, and much of interest 
that may be profitably recorded. 

William Heilman was born in Hesse Darmstadt, on the 
11th of October, 1824. His father, Valentine Heilman, was a 
farmer and died when William was a small child. His mother 
married a Mr. Peter Weintz, and William alternately labored 
on the farm and attended the common school of his native 
village. 

In 1843, the family emigrated to America, landing at New 
Orleans. They first removed to St. Louis, where they remained 
only a short time, and then came to Indiana, settling in Posey 
County, where Mr. Weintz engaged in farming. Our subject 
labored early and late on the farm, but only received a slight 
remuneration for his work — and more could not be expected 
from a market in which potatoes were selling for ten cents; corn, 
ten cents ; wheat, twenty-five cents. He became disgusted with 
his present business, and resolved to follow a more paying avo- 
cation. Christian Kratz, Esq., an experienced founder and 
machinist, had married his sister; and, in conversation at 
William's home, Mr. Kratz had spoken of the money to be made 
jn that business This conversation soon set Mr. Heilman to 
thinking, and he proposed a partnership. ' Mr. Heilman bor- 
rowed five hundred dollars from his mother, and, as Mr. Kratz 
had the same amount, they soon began the preliminaries of the 
business ; each partner had a blind horse, and these supplied 
the power. 
4 



26 Evanaville and Us Men of Mark. 

Their first shop, consisting of hewed logs, rudely con- 
structed as it was, was very serviceable. Their foundry was 
located in the block between Elm and Pine and First and Sec- 
ond streets. Six men were employed at the outset ; but even 
with this small force, it wms with difficulty that Mr. Heilman 
provided for them on pay-day — as he was the financial manager 
of the business. Their first work was on dog-irons, cast plows, 
stoves, etc. 

Slowly but surely business increased, as their work was 
well and promptly performed, and at prices, too, which pleased 
the consumer. In 1850, they built a brick shop and commenced 
using steam-power. The engine and boiler were constructed by 
themselves, using their usual horso-power. From this time 
they commenced the building of machinery on an extensive 
scale ; and now the ability of Mr. Heilman was manifested in 
securing orders for machinery, collecting the bills, etc., for 
which he exhibited a very decided penchant. 

In 1854, they manufactured their first portable steam 
engine ; and these, for many years, formed a very important 
specialty in their extensive trade. They also constructed all 
kinds of mill machinery, boilers, etc., which soon advertised the 
machine shops, and finally established its reputation. In 1859, 
they turned out their first thresher, which was patterned after 
the "Pitts" machine. This soon obtained favor with the 
farmers, as they were very durable as well as effective Some 
of these first machines are yet in use, and able to do good work. 

On account of the scarcity of labor, after the commence- 
ment of tne late Rebellion, the demand for machinery of all 
kinds rapidly increased, and Mr. Heilman was among the first 
manufacturers to take advantage of this trade. Having an 
excellent and practical partner, they made arrangements where- 
by they secured a large trade, and disposed off an immense 
amount of machinery. At this time, too, there were many 
favorable openings for investments, as a large number of capi- 
talists and business men were in doubt as to the success of the 
Union armies; but Mr. Heilman, as well as his partner, had 
great faith in the Government, and never hesitated for a moment 
to extend their trade; increase the number of their workmen; 
and erect new buildings — to keep pace with every demand of 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 27 

their patrons. It was here that the business forecast, so essen- 
tial to the practical man of affairs, was exhibited in its strong- 
est light In 1864, Mr. Kratz retired from the firm ; and since 
that time Mr. Heilman has conducted the business individually. 

After the close of the Civil War, his trade was largely- 
extended in the South and South-west ; and the products of the 
City Foundry are almost as well known there as in the place of 
their manufacture. The City Foundry, from a log-house with 
six employees, has expanded to the extensive buildings which 
comprise nearly the entire block, and is surpassed by no foun- 
dry in the West for the quality of its work or the durability of 
its machinery. 

Up to 1868, his residence was by the side of his foundry, 
but in that year the increasing trade demanded more room ; 
the building was removed, and the present spacious salesrooms 
erected on its site. In 1868-9, after visiting several cities and 
examining the plans of their most beautiful residences, he erected 
the elegant mansion on First avenue, fronting on Ninth street. 
This structure, perfect in all its appointments, towering above 
a park of trees and shrubbery, is beautiful in itself, but finds 
an additional charm in the grounds about it. All who visit 
this portion of the city accord to it the name of being one of 
the finest residences in the State of Indiana. 

Mr. Heilman, though busily engaged in manufacturing, 
also acted as director of the State Bank of Indiana, and of its 
successor, the Evansville National Bank, as well as director of 
the Horse Railway Company, President of the Gas Company, and 
principal owner of the Cotton Mill, and other enterprises, too 
numerous to mention, Where improvements were to be made 
and large sums ot money were to be expended, Mr. Heilman 
was always active as president, director, or some other position. 
The thoroughness of his business accomplishments, the success of 
his undertakings, together with his financial ability and execu- 
tive powers, inspired all with the greatest confidence. 

From the organization of the Republican party, in 1856, 
Mr. Heilman has been one of its warmest supporters, — never 
taking any active part in political life till the close of the war; 
though while the Rebellion was in process, he acted a noble and 
conspicuous part ; attended all the public meetings to raise 



28 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

recruits; and expended his money liberally to send supplies to 
the sick and wounded soldiers. Mr. Heilman was never an 
orator ; but did much and valuable service to the Union, by his 
steadfast and unyielding attachment to the cause he had es- 
poused. In 1852, as a citizens' candidate, he was elected as a 
member of the City Council from the Eighth ward. In 1865, 
he was elected Councilman from the Fourth ward — though this 
had usually been a Democratic stronghold. He was a member 
of the Council several terms, and his course was marked and de- 
cided — ever discharging his duties with promptness and fidelity. 

In 1869, he was elected a representative to the Legislature, 
receiving the largest majority given any candidate in the dis- 
trict for that position. In the lower house there was not a 
member who took a more active part in the " real business" of 
the Legislature. He was always in his seat in the House, pres- 
ent at the meetings of the committees, and contended in a 
zealous manner for all the interests of Evansville and South- ■ 
ern Indiana. 

In the Spring of 1872, he received the unanimous nomina- 
tion of the Republicans as their candidate for Congress. Not- 
withstanding his great personal popularity, and the fact that he 
led his ticket in nearly every township, the political complex- 
ion of the district was so strongly Democratic, that he was 
defeated, though under the most flattering circumstances pos- 
sible. Mr. Heilman canvassed the district in person, and 
though not a public speaker, wherever he went he produced 
arguments in behalf of the continuance of Republican rule in 
the halls of the nation. They were very effective, as we note 
he was defeated by only one hundred and twelve votes — a 
striking contrast with the majority of two thousand two hund- 
red and fifty, which his opponent had received only two years 
previously. 

In person, Mr. Heilman is above medium height, with a 
strong frame, and now, though inclined to corpulency, is still 
active and able to do much service. A broad and expanded 
forehead, and a wide, lull face, in which the prominent charac- 
teristics are Dicision, Power and Benevolence. The latter 
quality is fully evinced by his many charitable alms to the 
worthy poor. No one ever asked him to contribute to a worthy 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 29 

object in vain ; and he is as well known for his generosity of 
heart as for his firmness and sagacity as a business man. 

William Heilman is indeed a self-made man ; and his im- 
mense estate, the fruit of his own energy and skill, is an ample 
evidence of his success. He is a worthy example of the pro- 
gress of our young State's growth in wealth and power, from a 
sparsely-settled territory to its present status, as one of the fore- 
most States in the Union. Mr. Heilman, yet in the prime of 
life, full of energy, is a model Indianian ; the product of our 
free institutions — not so delicate as the orange of more sunny 
shores, but a sturdy oak, which has buffetted the winds and the 
rain, and now stands erect, triumphant in its manhood's success; 
a fit type of the worthy men whose career has marked the des- 
tiny of our beloved city. 




William Caldwell. 



HE following is the outline of the salient events in the 
life of an honest business man, who, dependent from 
early youth on his own resources, has won his way, slowly but 
surely to an honorable position in the mercantile world : 

William Caldwell, familiarly known as " Partner," was 
born six miles from Londonderry, Ireland, in 1801. His father, 
James Caldwell, Esq., was a linen merchant; and, in the pro- 
cess of his business, crossed the Atlantic twenty-six times. His 
son, William, in boyhood had two occupations in view : civil 
engineering and navigation ; and, to engage in these pursuits, 
devoted much time to the study of mathematics. 

At the age of twenty, with the sum of only one hundred 
dollars, he emigrated to Philadelphia, where he hoped to obtain 
a position as surveyor, or a berth on board some vessel. Alter 



30 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

considerable time had been expended without success, in search- 
ing for such a situation, he met with a Mr. Sticinini, an Italian 
manufacturer of and dealer in marble monuments, mantles, etc. 
The words now were " hard work," and as he preferred to be 
independent, he entered the establishment as a finisher, and 
after four years was promoted to be foreman of the factory. 
He was not able to save much at the " Quaker City ;" as, in 
1827, when he started for Evansville, he had only one hundred 
dollars in his possession. 

After arriving at the village, he entered the service of Mr. 
John Shanklin, and continued with the firm of which Mr. 
Shanklin was a member, ten years. In 1837, he opened a dry 
goods establishment on Water street, between Locust and 
Main, and was soon busily engaged, as he, while acting as clerk, 
had made an extensive acquaintance and secured the highest 
respect from all who knew him. Some fifteen years afterward, 
he removed to Third street, between Locust and Main, and 
opened an extensive grocery store, which was soon recognized 
as one of the leading establishments in the city. In 1854, he 
removed to his present location, in order to be in a more cen- 
tral position. Whenever he moved, his patrons followed him ; 
as, by years of experience, his motto, "Honesty is the best pol- 
icy," had made his customers feel that "Partner" would 
not lie, or deceive them in any manner. William Caldwell's 
name on a note added materially to its negotiable value, as the 
banks were certain that "Partner" would pay at the stated 
time. He might have acquired a handsome fortune if he had 
been less generous to his many friends, and refused to indorse 
their notes and act as security on bonds, etc. Much money, 
to say nothing of time, was lost by these operations, as he paid 
the last dollar that stood against his name, 

In 1831, he was married to Miss dementia Ann Hopkins, 
daughter of Edward Hopkins, Esq., an old and respected citizen 
of the city. This lady — deceased only six years after their union 
— was a most estimable woman and devoted wife. Possessed of a 
love for the church, she was constantly engaged in attending 
to the distress of the poor and the needy, and in extending the 
usefulness of the organization to which she belonged. Three 
children were the result of the marriage ; only one of whom is 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 31 

living — William H., the superintendent of his father's estab- 
lishment. William Caldwell has been connected with Morning 
Star Lodge, No. 7, I. 0. 0. F., since the first week of its organ- 
ization, and has passed through the various chairs. He is also 
the oldest patriarch of the Good Templars in Evansville, and 
has held many positions in the order. 

In religious belief, he has been a Presbyterian since child- 
hood, and has been connected with the Vine Street Church since 
the formation of that society. 

He had never held any office in the gift of the people, 
though he had been an earnest and bard worker of the Whig 
party; and, after its dissolution, Mr. Caldwell joined the Re- 
publican party, and has been identified with it. 

William Caldwell will always be remembered as a warm, 
generous friend ; an honest, successful merchant; and an incor- 
ruptible citizen.- 



^ 



1 



Captain William H. Chandler, 

Foundeb op " The Daily Journal." 



(IN the Spring of 1818, a little boy, who was walking by 
the side of his mother as she passed up the muddy 
bank of the Ohio, said, in a reproachful tone : "Ma, where is 
Evansville?" There were few signs of a village; and well 
might that young lad exclaim, as he did, when his anticipation 
had been excited, and his day-dreams had connected the des- 
tined village with his old home. That little boy has seen the 
insignificant village grow to a town, and pass on to the dignity 
of a city, and lives to see Evansville assume, year by vear, still 
larger proportions. 

William H. Chandler was born on William street, New 
York, on the 26th of March, 1814. Asaph Chandler, his father, 



32 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

was a native of Vermont, and had removed to New York City 
in order to enter into the Atlantic trade. He commanded and 
owned a ship in the New York and Liverpool and New York 
and Havre lines, and for some years previous to the birth of his 
son William, was a merchant in New York City. In 1818, he 
removed West, coming in wagons to Pittsburgh, with the inten- 
tion of buying a flat-boat and thence traveling by river to 
Evansville. While on their overland route and encamped on 
Laurel Hill, Pennsylvania, they happened to meet President 
Monroe, and encamped for tbe night opposite the Presidential 
wagons. At Pittsburgh they purchased a flat-boat, placed on it 
all their household effects, and then took passage for their new 
home, and arrived at Evansville in May, 1818. Mr. Chandler 
purchased a lot on the south-east corner of Water and Chestnut 
streets, and soon afterward erected a dwelling-house, long since 
removed. 

In the following October the father died, after a short ill- 
ness of the so-called " Milk Disease." Mr. Daniel Chute, an 
estimable gentleman, about this time started a school, and Wil- 
liam was under his instruction only a few months, as the terms 
were short and of irregular sessions. 

In 1822, his mother was married to Major James Cutler, of 
Massachusetts, and the family removed to New Orleans — the 
conveyance again being a flat-boat. In 1823, they returned, 
fortunately for the subject of this sketch, to New York City, as 
William was enabled to attend the first free school of the city. 
This was located in the rear of the City Hall. 

In 1824, the family again came West, and located at Nash- 
ville, Tennessee, where they remained till 1839. At Nashville 
William attended the Stevens Preparatory School till his 
fifteenth year, with the intention of entering Nashville Univer- 
sity. He soon noticed that his mother could not afford to send 
both John Jay and himself to college, so he resolved to do 
something for himself. He accordingly became a printer, and 
entered the office of the Nashville Republican. He remained 
in this office five years, the last year of which he acted as fore- 
man of the book and job department. As a result of his econ- 
omy and diligence, we would note that he saved two thousand 
dollars. At the age of twenty, he joined the State militia, and 



Evan&ville and its Men of Mark. 33 

was elected a Captain before he reached his twenty-first birth- 
day. In 1836, his company was ordered to join the forces 
engaged in the Creek War ; but the same day received orders 
which detained them. The next day after they had disbanded 
the soldiers received word that Santa Anna was marching upon 
Texas ; and, as there were Tennesseans in Texas, the people 
were greatly excited. Harry Hill, a generous and worthy citi- 
zeu of Nashville, offered the soldiers two thousand dollars to 
defray their expenses, provided they would at once proceed to 
Texas. Captain Chandler also tendered two thousand dollars, 
if the men would volunteer. Fifty-four men, before night, had 
enlisted ; and the next morning Captain Chandler, with his 
company, took a steamer for New Orleans. 

On reaching New Orleans, Captain C. sent the men, with 
one officer, via the Gulf to Velasco, Matagorda Bay, thence by 
land to rejoin him on the banks of the Gaudaloupe ; while he 
was to proceed up Red River and overland to the place of meet- 
ing. Considerable marching was performed, but Gen. Houston 
for several weeks could not be found. Once the company was 
within the sound of the drums of the main body of the Mexican 
army, but prudently retreated before they were discovered. 
The Mexicans had invaded Texas with their armies, and this 
little band were endeavoring to report to General Hous- 
ton, even within the territory of their corps. Fortunately no 
fighting occurred ; and though they did not reach the command 
of Houston till after the close of hostilities, the amount of 
marching they performed was rarely excelled in the history of 
any of the wars on the Western continent. 

In January, 1837, Captain Chandler returned to Nashville, 
at the same time that his brother, John Jay, returned from the 
Seminole War. This year, also, he went to Lexington, Hen- 
derson County, West Tennessee, and published a paper called 
the Lexington Gazette. This was Whig in politics, and the 
money to establish the same was supplied by the wealthy men 
of that political faith. In six months the paper was discontin- 
ued ; as it was only designed to affect the State election of that 
year. 

In the Spring of 1839, he came to Evansville, on his way 

to New York ; and at the request of several influential citizens, 
5 



34 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

he, in company with his brother, John Jay Chandler, purchased 
the Evansville Journal and Vanderburgh Weekly Advertiser. 
The paper was then christened The Evansville Journal, and has 
since retained that name. His brother, John Jay, remained 
connected with the paper seventeen months; and then, on 
account of the pressure of his legal business, he sold out to 
Captain Chandler — upon whom the entire editorial and publish- 
ing responsibility depended. Many a time he has "set" edi- 
torials while standing at the "case" — thus composing the 
matter and arranging the type at the same time. This was the 
leading Whig paper of the State, and it was forced to depend, 
in a great measure, upon its intrinsic value, as a leading organ 
in that party. 

In 1846, the Tri-weekly was started ; and in 1847 the Daily 
Journal was inaugurated, as an experiment. His working- 
hours were from 4 in the morning till 12 at midnight ; and he 
performed the duties of editor, reporter, and office-boy, as well 
as sometimes compositor and pressman. Those who read the 
Journal or Courier of the present day, and are aware of the 
force requisite to carry on a city daily, can have some idea of 
the toil and anxiety attached to a daily with a single man to 
perform the entire work of the various departments. The 
Journal was a success, and battled manfully for the old Whig 
organization. 

In 1847, he was married to Miss Eebecca Hugg, neice of 
Hon. William M. Walker, and for the first time in his life he 
experienced the comforts of a home. 

In 1848, he was appointed postmaster by President Taylor 
and sold the Journal — not being able to perform the duties of 
both positions. He served as postmaster for four years ; and, 
upon the inauguration of President Pierce, he was relieved. 
For the next five years he was prostrated with rheumatism and 
utterly unable to attend to any business. In 1857 he started a 
book and job office; and in 1857-8 published the first city 
directory, 

On account of ill-health, in 1862 he retired from active 
business life, and has since reaped the benefits of a prosperous 
career. Captain Chandler has always been a man of decided 
opinions ; and when his judgment admonished him to follow a 




JOHN J. CHANDLER. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 35 

particular line of duty — however difficult the work seemed to 
be — the war was carried bravely on till the goal was reached 
and victory was secured. Though somewhat bodily enfeebled, 
his mind is vigorous as of yore, and his voice can still be 
heard in advocacy of the improvement of his adopted home. 
He has done a good work for the Crescent City, and it will be 
a truly degenerate age when the name of Captain William H. 
Chandler shall be forgotten within her borders. 



John Jay Chandler. 




3 AS born in New York City, on the 17th of November, 
1815 ; and his family history will be found fully 
traced in the sketch of his brother, Capt. William H. Chandler 
— as regards their removal to Evansville and Nashville. 

In his youth, John Jay Chandler was characterized by 
a devouring thirst for knowledge ; and every book that came 
in his way was pored over with unflagging interest. He 
received the greater portion of his education at the Nashville 
University, of which the late Dr. Phillip Lindsey was Presi- 
dent. As a student, he was fond of the classics ; and distin- 
guished himself as an essayist on Political Economy and Mental 
Philosophy. In the literary societies he was regarded as one of 
their best debaters, and his ironical repartees won a rather 
formidable reputation ; few dared to attack him on his peculiar 
topics. He graduated, with high honors, in 1836, and immedi- 
ately raised a company for the Seminole War, then raging in 
Florida. His bravery at the battle of Withlacooche, in which 
the company suffered severely, received the uustinted praise of 
General Armstrong. He also participated in three other 
engagements with the Creeks and Seminoles, and gained a sig- 
nal and meritorious success for his skill in manceuvering his 
men, and the care he exhibited for their safety in fighting a 
peculiarly wily foe. 



36 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

After the close of this campaign he commenced the study 
of law, at Nashville ; but removed to Evansville in the Fall of 
1838. He at once entered the office of Amos Clark, and con- 
tinued his law studies. In the Spring of 1839 he was admitted 
to practice, and was at once received as a partner by his former 
instructor. The success which has attended him as a profes- 
sional man, was marked, and the cases in which he figured at 
once stamped him as a keen logician, a shrewd counselor, and 
an advocate with few superiors in the West — often abrupt in 
the assertion of his opinions ; intensely personal, as he was, in 
the course of an argument ; there was so much of gentlemanly 
courtesy and dignity about his deportment, that even his most 
bitter opponents would forget their defeat when they saw the au- 
dacity and skill he exhibited in the management of acause on trial 

Mr. Chandler took a lively interest in the affairs of the 
town ; aided materially in organizing the city government ; 
and was elected its first City Clerk and City Attorney. Disa- 
bled by physical infirmities, from engaging in many political 
canvasses, yet his talents and energies in behalf of his party and 
political friends were such that he might have attained an emi- 
nent position in the State, had his ambition pointed toward 
such paths. A scholar by nature, his conversation indicated 
the depth of his learning and the scope of his reading — able to 
quote, at random, the best thoughts of the standard authors. 
He was, in every respect, a man of fine literary taste and cul- 
ture ; and his generosity was as open-handed as his tastes were 
elevated and refined. 

Mr. Chandler was married, in 1851, to Mrs. Ann Hann, a 
sister of Dr. Isaac Casselberry. This excellent lady, with three 
children, survive him. Mr. Chandler's lameness gave him the 
appearance of being much under the average stature. Though 
spare, as regards flesh, his well-marked features indicated his 
will, energy, decision ; and distinguished him as a man of com- 
manding presence. 

When we look around and see the improvements which 
have taken place in the Crescent City, and think of how closely 
John Jay Chandler was identified, either directly or indirectly, 
with their growth, we can not but feel that a master-spirit has 
gone from the place he loved so well. 



Judge Nathan Rowley. 




,0R nearly fifty-four years Nathan Rowley was associated 
with, the progress of Evansville ; and during that 
period he maintained an enviable reputation for honor and 
principle. 

He was born in Shoram, Vermont, on the 28th of Septem- 
ber, 1788. His father was a farmer, and Nathan remained at 
home, working on the hilly farm, till 1819, when he removed 
to Evansville. 

The journey westward was a pleasant one to the young 
man ; and as the flat-boat touched the Indiana shore to "wood 
up," he resolved to remain in the " Hoosier State " and make 
his fortune. His capital was limited, but sufficient to set up a 
boot and shoe shop. He had learned the shoe business at his 
old home, and as there seemed to be an opening for that trade, 
he resolved to make a venture. In 1820, he established him- 
self on Water street, and remained in that location eight years. 
His industrious habits and prudent economy enabled him, in 
that time, to save several hundred dollars. 

During this time he acted as justice of the peace, and in 
that capacity was often consulted by the litigious inhabitants of 
the town, who were prone to quarrel upon every trivial subject, 
and had great confidence in the " 'Squire." 

From 1828 to 1831, he was engaged in the drug and gro- 
cery business; having as different partners John Shanklin, Dr. 
Trafton, and Gen. Evans. In 1831, he built a store-house on 
the present site of the Merchants' National Bank; and in the 
next year, in company with Marcus Sherwood, opened a dry- 
goods store in the building. In 1838, he sold out his interest 
in the establishment, and took a contract on the Wabash and 
Erie Canal. By the terms of his contract, he had to dig seven 



38 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

half-mile sections, and to finish the part which ran through 
Fifth street to Division in 1839. His part of the contract was 
faithfully observed ; and if all had been as energetic in their 
connection with the construction of the canal, it would have, 
undoubtedly proved a success. 

In 1840, he was appointed Probate Judge by Governor 
Noble, and in 1841 was elected to the same position by a large 
majority. He resigned this office in the latter part of 1841. 
As a judge, he proved a faithful guardian of all the interests 
committed to his care ; and though not so learned as some of 
his brother officials, his judicial career was highly commended 
by all who had any business with him in a probate capacity. 

In 1842, he rented the Indiana Flour Mill, which formerly 
stood near the present depot of the Railway, and was engaged 
in a large and profitable business till its destruction by fire, in 
1844. This entailed a loss of over ten thousand dollars upon 
him ; but, with his usual energy, he rebuilt the mill, and after 
a year's continuance in business sold it, and opened the Salt 
Well Park, in company with John Gifford- This sood became 
a popular resort, and in 1853 Judge Rowley was mainly instru- 
mental in making the Crescent City Spring the leading resort 
of the public. 

In 1832 he purchased the property which was afterwards 
platted by him under the style of the North-eastern Enlarge- 
ment, or Rowleytown. He was also collector for the canal sev- 
eral years ; and in 1865 he terminated his active career, as his 
term of office as justice of the peace expired. 

From his arrival, until he was disabled by age, he was 
active in promoting the interests of Evansville — and especially 
will he be remembered in his efforts to relieve the State of In- 
diana from the odium of repudiation in connection with its debts. 

In 1849, he worked earnestly for the Evansville & Craw- 
fordsville Railroad project, and subscribed liberally for its 
construction. In 1853, he was a warm friend of the Straight 
Line Railroad, and for which he contributed two thousand 
dollars. 

This enterprising pioneer died January 12th, 1872, at the 
residence of Thomas D. Smyth, of Knight Township — and thus 
closed a life of usefulness in which rare liberality and generoe- 



•«w >**■' 




HON. M. S. JOHNSON. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 39 

ity were exhibited toward his friends and State. The name of 
Judge Rowley will long be held in remembrance, as one who 
contributed so nobly for the advancement of Evansville ; for 
bis effective labors in her behalf; and his valuable contribu- 
tions to any and all projects to serve the interests of all classes 
of society. 



Hon. Morris Stanberry Johnson, 



J|||RT was the fortune of Hon. Morris Stanberry Johnson, 
%fyg/ even tbough in his prime at the time of his death, to 
realize the fruits of a successful career, whose course had been 
guided by honor and integrity. His ability was recognized by 
all while he was living, and in his death there were left behind 
him none but pleasant recollections and tenderest sorrow. 

His generosity as a citizen, affability as a gentleman, and 
kindly treatment of all with whom he came in contact, were 
alone sufficient traits to have drawn to him warm friends, 
while bis energy and perseverence have left an indelible stamp 
upon the business ?ommunity and legal fraternity of this section. 

Tbe Hon. Morris Stanberry Johnson was a native of the 
State of New Jersey, having been born at Morristown, in that 
State, on the 15th day of March, 1817. He came of good, 
patriotic stock — his mother being a daughter of Colonel Stan- 
berry, who figured at Wbite Plains, in the Revolutionary War. 
She was also a cousin of Hou. Henry Stanberry, of Newport, 
Kentucky, who was Attorney-General of the United States 
during a part of the administration of Ex-President Johnson, 
and who was one of the attorneys who defended that gentleman 
at the impeachment trial. 



40 Evan&ville and its Men of Mark. 

His early life was largely devoted to literary pursuits ; 
having decided to enter the legal profession, even at an early 
age. With what fidelity he pursued this aim, may be seen from 
his subsequent course. His leisure hours, in an active business 
career, were devoted to the end which he had determined upon 
as his object in life. 

Owing to the solicitations of his family, and his recognized 
success in mercantile life, he did not begin the practice of law 
until he had reached his thirty-fifth year. 

It was in the year 1844 that his removal to Evansville 
occurred ; and from that time his history became a part of that 
of the city. In that year he opened a wholesale and retail dry 
goods establishment in company with Isaac A. Crane, Esq. The 
firm of Johnson & Crane continued in business for several years, 
when it was dissolved, and Mr. Johnson continued business on 
his own account. He removed for a short time to Newburgh, 
but soon returned to Evansville and revived his knowledge of 
the law in the office of the late Gen. James E. Blythe. He soon 
afterward commenced the practice, and formed a partnership 
with Hon. John Law and Hon Charles I. Battell, two of the 
most eminent attorneys that ever graced the bar of our city. 

His success as a lawyer began from his first introduction to 
the profession ; and up the time of his election as Judge of the 
First Common Pleas District, he had already gained, a large 
and lucrative practice. 

In 1848, Mr. Johnson first gave evidence to our citizens of 
a capacity and fitnesss for public life, and his career was marked 
with the honor and dignity that seemed his habitual character- 
istic. He was a zealous supporter of the Taylor and Fillmore 
Presidential ticket, and his voice was often heard in the " wig- 
wam," in advocacy of the claims of these men, and the doc- 
trines of the old Whig party. 

In the mutations of politics which followed close upon the 
demise of the Whig party, Mr. Johnson became identified with 
the Democracy, and continued in that relation to the time of his 
death, in 1872. His first appearance as a candidate was in 
1862, when he ran against William Baker for Mayor of Evans- 
ville, but was beaten fifty votes for the office. It was remarked 
however, that he made a splendid race, and we doubt whether 






Evansville and its Men of Mark. 41 

any other man of our city could have made as many votes in 
opposition to the incumbent, as Mr. Johnson did at that time. 

In 1837, Mr. Johnson was elected Judge of the First Com- 
mon Pleas District, to fill a vacancy. His competitor was Maj. 
A. L. Robinson, who held the office by appointment of the Gov- 
ernor. The following year Judge Johnson was elected over 
Isaac S. Moore, Esq., of Boonville, for a full term, and was the 
presiding Judge at the time of his death. 

In 1840, Mr. Johnson was united in marriage to Miss 
Charlotte Warner, of New York City ; and his private life was 
filled with domestic joys and pleasures. No children were born 
to them. 

By strict and honorable attention to business, Judge 
Johnson had accumulated a valuable property, and two or three 
years ago bad erected a fine residence, which is one of the orna- 
ments of our city. 

As a lawyer, Ju'lge Johnson had achieved an honorable 
distinction , as a judge, he was impartial and just ; as a gen- 
tleman in private life, he was genial, affable, and hospitable ; 
as a citizen, he was generous and liberal. 

Such a man, as was Judge Johnson, is an ornament to any 
community. He was more than this : a man of brains and 
heart ; a man of power and of much usefulness to his fellow 
men. 




Theodore Venemann. 



'AS born in Ahausen, near Essen, Dukedom of Olden- 
burg, March 19th, 1808. He emigrated to America 
in August, 1834, and lesided first at Cincinnati. In 1835, he 
was married to Miss Elizabeth Rathers, of Cincinnati, an esti- 
mable lady, who was a worthy help-mate of the industrious 
foreigner. 

On coming to the Queen City Mr. V. had engaged in the 
dry-goods business, and was rapidly establishing himself in a 
prosperous business, when his entire stock was burned by the 
disastrous fire of 1844. Though his hopes were somewhat 
dampened by this unexpected calamity, be resolved to work on 
as hard as ever, and take another location. Just at this period 
his relations in the old country were anxious for his return ; and 
agreeably to their wishes he, with his family, returned to Ger- 
many in the Fall of 1844; but with the determination of again 
making America his home. He remained in the old country 
till the Winter of 1847, when he again came to the United 
States and settled in Evansville in April, 1848. 

In company with his brother, he opened a dry-goods store 
on the south corner of Main and Second streets, under the firm 
name of T. & J. Venemann. In 1851, our subject sold his 
interest to his brother Joseph, and established a foreign exchange 
and steamship office. This had been a darling project with Mr. 
V. for several years ; as he had noticed the immense emigration 
of Europeans to the United States, and the necessity of such an 
institution — not only for the accommodation of travelers, but 
also a mighty influence in the development of Southern Indiana. 

In this business his sons, Theodore W- and August, were 
associated with him in 18G7, the elder of the two being the 
principal manager of the house. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 43 

Ever since his location at Evansville, Mr. V. had been 
active in advocating any and all projects for the improvement 
of the city ; and though never an office-seeker, yet his fellow- 
citizens have several times elected him to prominent and useful 
positions, the duties of which were discharged in a creditable 
manner. In 1856, Mr. V. was elected County Treasurer, and 
in 1858 was re-elected to the same position, by a largely 
increased majority. The issue in the latter case was on the 
Lecompton question in connection with the admission of Kansas 
into the Union. Mr. V. ran as an independent candidate as an 
anti-Lecompton man, and the result told how warmly he was 
supported by the people. His official career was above re- 
proach, and the masterly manner of his management of the 
county funds, fully indicated the instinctive shrewdness of the 
banker, and the high-toned moral culture of his heart. He 
was also an amateur horticulturist and pomologist, and the zeal 
with which he cultivated his garden and nursery was a fair indi- 
cation of his domestic character. The Bee, too, was a favorite 
topic with our subject, and as an apiarist he was second to none 
in the State. 

In his private life he was esteemed by all who knew him ; 
and at his death, on the 9th of February, 1872, a host of friends 
and citizens, endeared to him, mourned the loss of a kind friend, 
a generous neighbor, and a worthy citizen ; \vho loved his God 
and fellow-men, and was an honor to the country of his adoption, 




Colonel James G. Jones. 



• 111 work on Evansville would be complete without men- 
tion of Col. Jas. Gr. Jones. He grew up with the 
city and was ever identified with its interests. One of the ear- 
liest settlers in this section, his personal reminiscences went 
back to the time when Evansville was a mere village, and the 
surrounding country a wilderness. 

Col. Jones was born at Paris, Kentucky, July 3d, 1814. 
He came, with his parents, to Vanderburgh County in 1819, 
and settled in Union Township. His youthful education con- 
sisted in the sports and labors of pioneer life — proficient in the 
use of gun and oar — able to read and write — he even then gave 
promise of the larger fame and fortune which he was destined 
to experience. 

It is only owing to his indomitable pluck and the aid of a 
hickory fire that his mind became familiar with the abstruse 
sciences of mathematics, which he diligently studied in his 
father's cabin. By dint of hard work he became a lawyer, and 
was recoguized as among the most brilliant of the State. His 
logical mind made his services as a counselor invaluable, and 
ranked him above the eloquent advocate, for he came out from 
all legal encounters with victory on his side, where it was pos- 
sible of attainment. One of his first public positions was that 
of County Recorder, and he has made the county records upon 
which most of the titles to the real estate depend. He was, 
also, a good surveyor, and his work in this capacity is the recog- 
nized guide for the present surveys of the city. 

In 1840, he was Attorney of the city under the corpora- 
tion ; also, a town trustee. In the latter capacity he drew, in 
his own beautiful chirography, the draft of the city charter, 
under which the city government was formed. His efforts 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 45 

secured the many special privileges which Evansville to-day 
enjoys, and which were put into practical operation in 1847. 
He was the first Mayor of the city, receiving a salary of five 
hundred dollars ; and in 1850 he was re-elected to a second 
term. His election involved the Temperance question, or that 
of " license " and " no license," and his majority as the license 
candidate, against Conrad Baker, his no-license competitor, was 
sixty-three votes. In 1853, he was defeated for this office, on 
local issues, by Hon. Jno. S. Hopkins ; and in 1856, by the late 
John Henson, on political questions — Col. Jones being the Re- 
publican nominee. He was afterward twice defeated for the 
City Council. 

In 1860, Col. Jones was elected by the Republican party 
for the office of Attorney-General of Indiana, an office which 
he gave up in 1861, to accept the colonelcy of the Forty -second 
Regiment, Indiana Volunteers. His patriotism was manifested 
by distinguished services in the cause of the Union. Sickness, 
from which he never really recovered, took him from the field 
of battle ; but he was, without doubt, of as great service to the 
country as Provost Marshal General of the State, and subse- 
quently as the head of the recruiting bureau. 

At the close of the war he resumed his practice of the law, 
but his tremendous labors in the army had told on his constitu- 
tion ; and in 1869 he held his last official position, by appoint- 
ment of Governor Baker, as Judge of the Fifteenth Judicial 
Circuit, caused by the resignation of Hon. Wm. F. Parrett. 

In February, 1838, he was married to Miss Rose Ann 
Rappelye, the daughter of one of our oldest citizens ; and four 
sons and four daughters were born to them. 

Colonel Jones died April 5th, 1872, and his loss was deeply 
mourned. His genial temperament rendered him a good com- 
panion and a deservedly popular man in all circles. His gifts 
of heart and mind held all in his friendship and bound them 
still closer to him. The loving husband and kind father — there 
is, also, the broad circle of the community which recognized his 
worth ; the State which honored him in its trying moments ; 
and the loving recollections in which his memory is enshrined. 



Hon. Fred. W. Cook. 



HE subject of this sketch, Frederick Washington 
Cook, of the firm of Cook & Rice, proprietors of the 
City Brewery, on Seventh street between Main and Sycamore, 
was born at Washington City, D. C, February 1st, 1831, and 
his parents shortly afterward removed to Port Deposit, Cecil 
County, Maryland. After a residence of about three years at 
this place, they removed to Cincinnati, Ohio ; and in 1836 to 
this city ; and in the same year Mr. Cook's step-father, Jacob 
Rice, in copartnership with Fred. Kroener, the uncle of Mr. 
Cook, commenced a bakery business on the property where 
White, Dunkerson & Co's tobacco warehouse now stands, corner 
of Locust and Water streets. From this place they removed 
to Main street, between Second and Third, where Marconnier's 
hat store is now located ; and at this place, in connection with 
their bakery business, they also carried on a boarding-house. 

In 1837, Messrs. Rice and Kroener -bought property in 
Lamasco, near the terminus of the Wabash and Erie Canal, 
which was then in course of construction, and in the same year 
built what is now known as the " Old Brewery " — the first 
brewery built in Evansville. Mr. Cook remained with his 
parents until 1853, when he entered into a copartnership with 
Louis Rice, a brother of Mr. Cook's step-father, and built tbe 
City Brewery — the premises on which it stands then being a 
corn-field. When they began business the cash capital of the 
firm was $330; Louis Rice having saved $165 from his earn- 
ings, and Mr. Cook's father advancing him an equal amount. 
Louis Rice attended to the brewing department, and Mr. Cook 
to the business and financial department. They continued 
together with good success, until 1857, when Louis Rice sold 
his interest in the brewery to Jacob Rice, (Mr. Cook's father,) 
for $3,500. The new firm commenced building a Lager Beer 




HON. F. W. COOK. 



tlvansvllle and its Men of Mark. 4? 

cellar at once ; and in 1858 made the first lager beer in South- 
ern Indiana. In 1858, they also built an extensive malt-house. 

Mr. Cook was elected Councilman for the Fifth ward in 
April, 1856, and for the Eighth ward in April, 1863, and April, 
1864, but resigned in the Fall of 1864 ; having been elected 
Representative from Vanderburgh County to the Legislature of 
Indiana, in which body he served during the called session of 
1864 and regular session of 1864-5. In April, 1867, he was 
agaiD elected to the City Council from the Fourth ward ; and 
it may be said of him that both in the City Council and Legis- 
lature, he served to the entire satisfaction of his ..constituents, 
and with much credit to himself. 

In the Fall of 1856, Mr. Cook was married to Miss Louisa 
Hild, of Louisville, Kentucky. 

Mr. Cook has built additions to the brewery, from year to 
year, and has also procured all modern improvements known to 
the art of brewing ; and the establishment is now one of the 
most practically -arranged breweries in the West, and the larg- 
est in the State of Indiana. 

Mr. Rice, the step-father and partner of Mr. Cook, met with 
a fatal accident, on the 29th of April, 1872, and died on the 3d 
of May following, from the injuries received. Mrs. Rice, the 
mother of Mr. Cook, who survives, continues Mr. Rice's inter- 
est in the business; thus leaving the style of the firm unchanged. 
The brewery and premises are now worth upwards of one 
hundred thousand dollars, which resulted from the investment 
of three hundred and thirty dollars in 1853. 



Captain August Elles. 




AS born in Speyer-on-the-Rhine, Bavaria, on the 22d 
Qf May, 1815. His father was a soldier in the 
Bavarian army, and died when August was only two years of 
age. He was married, at the age of twenty-three, to Miss 
Margaret Schmidt, daughter of David Schmidt, ofWachenheim, 
Bavaria. In 1840, he, with his family, sailed for America ; 
landing in New York on the 28th of June, and at once started 
for Indiana. On the 31st of July following he reached Evans- 
ville, with a capital of fifty-five cents. Having learned the 
butcher's trade in the old country, he opened a slaughter-house, 
— obtaining the necessary credit from some friends. In this 
pursuit he continued till 1848. In this year he opened a large 
grocery store in company with John E. Meni. In 1852, Cassi- 
mer Schlamp purchased the interest of Mr. Meni ; and the firm 
of Elles & Schlamp was in the receipt of an extensive business, 
for several years. Mr. Elles also opened a store on the corner 
of Third and Locust streets ; and this was his business location 
till he purchased the flouring mills, on Canal street. The mills 
were destroyed by fire about five years after his undertaking 
their management ; but, with his usual energy, in connection 
with his son, Nicholas, he immediately erected the spacious 
" Canal Mills," so favorably known in this section. 

Mr. Elles was also well known as Captain of the Jackson 
Artillery — the first and only military company Evansville had 
for a number of years. 

Captain Elles was a Democrat in politics ; and, in 1855, 
was a fierce opponent of the organization named the " Know- 
Nothing " party. Often urged to accept a nomination, he only 
consented, in 1870, to run for an office ; and he was elected, by 
a large majority, a member of the Council from the First ward, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 49 

— and to his official position he brought the same energy and 
honesty he had exhibited in his private affairs. 

Captain Elles was a good business man ; and his sound, 
practical merit, in addition to his genial disposition, made him 
very popular in all his relations with the public. His death, in 
1871, was unexpected, and his loss was keenly felt by the com- 
munity at large, who knew him as a large-hearted citizen, who 
interested himself largely for the welfare of all. 



E. Q. Smith. 



J^ffi^|?HILE extensive factories, large foundries, and capa- 
f^^p^ c i ous mills have added largely to the wealth of the 
city, they have also been the source of the struggles and subse- 
quent triumphs of many of our most valuable citizens. Among 
those who have achieved success, as a manufacturer, is E. Q. 
Smith. He was born in Hunter, Greene County, New York, 
on the 7th of February, 1828. Jeremiah Smith, his father, 
was a carpenter and millwright by trade, and withal, a very 
ingenious mechanic. There was a chair factory in the town, 
and Mr. Smith was employed to keep the machinery in order; 
and our subject, when a boy, was accustomed to assist his father 
in his labors, and in a short time was very familiar with the 
method of making chairs. From 1846 to 1848 he worked at 
the business, and could make a first-class chair. In July, 1848, 
he started for the West, via the lakes, visiting Milwaukee and 
the pineries of Wisconsin. In the latter region he remained a 
few weeks, and assisted to build a saw-mill. Went South as 
far as Memphis, and then up the river to St. Louis, and here 
received a letter to go to Cincinnati and assist in making the 
machinery for the first machine chair factory of that city. 
7 



50 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

He arrived in Cincinnati in July, 1849, and spent a year in the 
factory. He now visited Detroit, via Cleveland, and worked in 
a chair factory two years; was married in March, 1852, to Miss 
Marion W. Ray, daughter of Elijah Ray, of Vermont, and re- 
turned to Cincinnati. He was now employed as foreman of the 
largest chair factory thpre, and soon enlarged its limited amount 
of machinery and doubled its annual production. He also 
invented three machines and made many improvements on the 
old machines which have been adopted by the trade generally. 
He came to Evansville in November, 1858, and embarked 
in the enterprise of manufacturing chairs on an extended scale. 
With one of the largest factories in the West, and not surpassed 
anywhere for accommodation and convenience, we think that 
few men have so brilliant a prospect before them as E.Q.Smith. 
His trade has been so heavy and constant that he has been 
compelled to make several additions to his factory and enlarge 
its capacity. Mr. Smith, comparatively speaking, is a young 
man, and destined to long service in the extensive businesss he 
has been so prominent in establishing ; and has been the means 
of introducing us abroad, and thus attracting many to Evans- 
ville as a base of supplies. Genial and social ; industrious and 
active — we trust the Crescent City may be fortunate enough in 
attracting more of the valuable citizens who will accomplish as 
great a work as the subject of this article. 




DK. E. J. EHRMAN. 




E. J. Ehrman, M. D. 



'AS born in Jaxthausen, Wurtemburg, Germany, on 
the 29th of October, 1819. He was educated 
in the common schools of his native land, and also in the office 
of his father, who was a physician and surgeon. In 1833, his 
parents removed to America, and settled in York, Pennsylva- 
nia. His father, after having thirty years' service in the Allo- 
pathic school, here embraced Homoeopathy ; and his son, at the 
age of twenty, commenced the study of medicine in his office. 
His course of instruction continued five years ; and at the age 
of twenty-five, he opened an office at Liverpool, York County, 
Pennsylvania, and began to realize the actual experiences of 
the medical profession. After several years' practice, he 
attended a full course of lectures at the Homoeopathic Medical 
College of Pennsylvania, and graduated in 1852. He then 
removed to Reitzville, York County, Pennsylvania, and from 
thence to Evansville ; arriving in the latter city in the Fall of 
1852. Dr. E. was the first Homoeopathic physician in Liver- 
poo!, Reitzville and Evansville. Several years elapsed before 
he could lay any foundation for the new school. After treating 
a few intelligent patients, his practice began to increase, and 
he enhanced his reputation by a skillful treatment of a variety 
of cases incident to this climate. After ten years' practice, he 
was forced to retain an assistant, in order to attend the many 
invalids requesting his services. Since 1862, ten gentlemen of 
the various schools have aided the Doctor ; and they are all in 
the enjoyment of a good practice, either in Indiana or adjoin- 
ing States. Dr. E. has been County Physician, and medical 
attendant of the Marine Hospital and Orphan Asylum. The 
latter position he retains at the present time. 



52 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Dr. E. is the youngest of five brothers, four of whom are 
still living, and all are homoeopathic physicians, doing active 
duty in the cause, and adding valuable contributions to its lit- 
erature. 

Years of honorable service have won for Dr. Ehrman hosts 
of friends, and he is held in loving reverence by his many 
patients. His love of the practice has led him to confine his 
duties to it ; and he has, therefore, accomplished little for its 
literature. But he has placed Homoeopathy on a firm and last- 
ing foundation in the Crescent City, and has identified himself 
with every earnest endeavor to secure and advance its interests. 
His ability is conceded by the profession of all schools, and he 
has secured universal respect, while the gratitude of his nu- 
merous patients is an ample reward for his laborious career. 
His punctuality and his temperate habits, in connection with 
his good constitution, will, we trust, long preserve to his State 
the benefit of his science and experience, 



John H. Roelker. 



iyS§fli)ROMINENT among those who have devoted themselves 
Sj$s)gy successfully to building up our manufacturing inter- 
ests is J. H. Roelker, Esq. A native of Ossenbrach, Kingdom 
of Hanover, Mr. R. came to America in 1835, then only 
nineteen years of age. He traveled on foot, fourteen days, to 
Pittsburgh, and then came on a steamboat to Louisville, Ken- 
tucky. He had one hundred dollars in his possession when he 
left the old country, and after his arrival at the latter city he 
had pnly eleven dollars left. He first obtained employment as 
a waiter-boy in a restaurant, at the rate of four dollars a month. 
In about four months he was offered a situation in a hotel, at the 




J. H. ROELKER 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 53 

increased wages of eleven dollars a month. He worked in the 
hotel three months, and. then engaged as second cook on the 
Orinoco, in the Louisville and St. Louis line. At the latter city 
he went on board the Chariton, as second cook. The steamer 
was bound up the Missouri for furs, etc. The voyage of over 
twelve hundred miles was very pleasant, and in two months 
the boat returned to St. Louis, and Mr. R. was out of a job. 
However, a hod-carrier was wanted on a building, and Mr. R. 
worked earnestly at this laborious business till he obtained a 
position as second steward on the Potosi, in the Louisville and 
St. Louis trade. In seven months] time he visited Cincinnati, 
where he met his brother, just from the old country. Wishing 
to remain near his brother, he obtained a position as driver of a 
furniture wagon, and was constantly at work at this avocation 
for three years. On the 20th of July, 1840, he commenced 
working as a stove-blacker, for twenty dollars a month. He 
worked ten years, in various capacities, and learned everything 
about the stove business. In 1850, he engaged as foreman of 
W. C. Davis & Co's foundry, and had charge of that establish- 
ment for over two and a half years. The following year and a 
half he had charge of Chamberlain & Co's extensive foundry. 

As a result of his economy and industrious habits, he had 
saved over six thousand dollars ; and he now determined to 
come to Evansville and establish a foundry. In 1854 he ar- 
rived in the city, and at once purchased a lot having one hun- 
dred and fifty feet front, on Main, between Fifth and Sixth 
streets, for thirty-two and a half dollars a foot. The necessary 
buildings were erected ; and having associated with himself F. 
W. Brinkmeyer, Esq., and John B. Mesker, a fair trade was 
carried on, and the prospect was encouraging for a rapid 
increase from that time forward. The firm of Brinkmeyer, 
Mesker & Co. established a lasting reputation for their stoves, 
etc.; and for thorough durability and style of finish" the products 
of their factory were second to none in the country. The firm 
was afterward known as Brinkmeyer, Klusman & Co., Roelker, 
Klusman k Co., and Roelker, Blount & Co, The latter firm 
also manufactured plows, which obtained considerable note in 
the agricultural districts. The firm name at the present time 



54 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

is J. H. Koelker & Co. — J. W. Roelker, a son of the former, 
being admitted as a member of the house. 

Seventy men are employed in the foundry, and the amount 
of business averages one hundred and twenty-five thousand 
dollars per annum. All work in this establishment is turned 
out in a style fully equal to any in the country. The products 
of this foundry have advertised largely the manufacturing 
interests, and their trade has grown in magnificent proportions, 
and they find little difficulty in competing with other localities. 

Mr. R. has served seven years in the City Council, and has 
been an active and influential member of that body. He h«s 
at all times manifested a generous public spirit, and can 
pride himself upon being just and impartial toward all men, of 
whatever political complexion they may be. Mr. Roelker has 
been a member of the Evangelical Zion Church since 1847 ; and 
we can truly say that his generosity and kindness toward the 
poor and afflicted are a true index of his noble heart. An ear- 
nest Republican, he might have received high political honors 
from his party ; but he preferred to devote himself to his busi- 
ness — in which he has met with merited success. 



Judge Asa Iglehart 




SUCCESS in life more often depends upon the real merit 
of the man, than the sudden freaks of fortune's wheel 
which occasionally turns out to some prominent position, the per- 
son, perhaps, unfitted for the diversified walks of higher life. 
It has been the innate energy and studious habits of Judge Igle- 
hart that has placed him so high in the profession; and the young 
men of this generation, whatever their condition may be, can 
look forward with trustfulness to the future, if they will only 
put their shoulders manfully to the wheel, and go forward. 




HON. ASA IGLEHART. 



Evansvllle and its Men of Mark. 55 

The ancestors of the Iglehart family were of German des- 
cent, and located, in 1700, in the vicinity of Baltimore, Mary- 
land. Levi Iglehart, the father of Asa, was born in Annarundel 
County, Maryland, on the 13th of October, 1786. He was a 
a farmer ; and, not .satisfied with his prospects in his native 
State, started for the Southwest, and finally settled in Ohio 
County, Kentucky, in 1816. Here, on the 8th of December, 
1817, Asa was born. Little is remembered of his life in this 
State ; as, in 1824, his father removed to Warrick County, In- 
diana- There were few schools in those days ; and what there 
were, were presided over by teachers hardly fitted for the 
responsible position. His mind was early inclined to books, 
and what education he received in his youth was directed by 
his own and his father's taste. As he grew up to manhood's 
stature, he worked on the farm and studied at his leisure inter- 
vals. He at one time taught school ; but his labors, otherwise, 
were connected with agricultural pursuits. 

In 1842, he was married to Miss Ann Cowle, of Blue 
Grass, Vanderburgh County, and at once removed to a tract of 
land presented to him by his father some years before. Slowly 
but surely his studious habits opened his eyes to a wider world, 
and he now dreamed of becoming a lawyer. This was the 
turning-point in his career. 

He came to Evansville, purchased BlacJcstone, and read 
the commentator and kindred authors, as his time would per- 
mit, He calculated for the future and prepared for professional 
life ; and at the same time managed his farm — feeling the 
responsibility of his position, and never doubting as to his final 
entry into the legal profession. With no patronizing friends to 
console him in his weary moments, the energy of his character 
finally conquered all obstacles ; he completed his course, and in 
1849 was admitted to practice. Mr. Iglehart removed to Evans- 
ville, and in a short time became associated with Messrs. Ingle 
and Wheeler, as junior partner. His integrity and prompt 
attention to business, combined with the faithfulness with which 
he ever labored for his clients' interests, secured for him a libe- 
ral share of practice. In June, 1854, he was appointed Judge 
of the Court of Common Pleas ; and here his talents as a jurist 
were so apparent, that he was nominated for the same position 



56 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

by the Republican party, and elected without opposition. His 
independent, firm, and discriminating course endeared him to 
the people at large ; and when he retired from the bench, he 
received the commendation of the members of the bar and the 
people, for the prompt and impartial manner he exhibited to- 
ward all with whom he came in contact. Ever since his retire- 
ment from the bench his practice has been extensive and 
lucrative. Never an advocate, the strong bent of his mind 
incliued him to the careful preparation of his pleadings — and 
in this particular Judge Iglehart has few, if any, superiors. 
The Supreme Court reports, undoubtedly, furnish the highest 
and most satisfactory evidence of his ability as a jurist. 

The writer has often seen him toiling, hour after hour, 
arranging the legal points in his brief and condensing his author- 
ities for the next day's argument in court — in which he was 
always short — always occupying little time, even in the most 
complicated cases. Cautious, prudent in the formation of his 
judgment; yet, when decided, he executes it with an energy 
eminently calculated to insure success. 

Plain and simple in his manner ; regular in his habits ; 
time has thus far laid its hand gently upon him. He is, appa- 
rently capable of performing much service for the people of this 
State, who have delighted to honor him with their confidence. 



Captain James W. Wartman, 

Clerk of the United States Court. 



^APTAIN WARTMAN was born in Lewisburg, Green- 
5^2^ brier County, Virginia, on February 7th, 1832. His 
early youth was passed in Cincinnati, where he received a thor- 
ough education, being a distinguished graduate of " Woodward 
High School," on a par with our best universities. For some 
years after finishing his education he was engaged in mercantile 




Evansville and its Men of Mark. 57 

pursuits in Cincinnati, where he established an excellent repu- 
tation. 

He removed to Spencer .County, Indiana, and studied law 
with Hon. L. Q. DeBruler, and commenced the practice of the 
law in Rockport, Indiana. In 1864 he was appointed Provost 
Marshal of the First District of Indiana, with headquarters at 
Evansville ; and after serving in that capacity for some time, 
resigned, and was appointed Commissioner of the Board of En- 
rollment for the First District of Indiana- During his services 
in these capacities the drafts of 1864 and 1865 occurred ; and 
the delicate, responsible and unpleasant duties devolving upon 
him, were performed with satisfaction to all. After the close 
of the war he returned to Rockport, Indiana, and resumed the 
practice of the law in partnership with one of his preceptors, 
Hon. Thos. F. DeBruler. In July, 1871, he was appointed 
Deputy Clerk of the United States Courts at Evansville, and at 
once entered upon the duties of his office. In September, 1871, 
was appointed United States Commissioner, and discharges his 
duties acceptably. 

Commissioner Wartmann is an ardent friend and an intelli- 
gent judge of the common-school system ; and for some years, 
while at Rockport, was President of the School Board. He is, 
also, a Sunday-school man, and for many years has engaged 
with much zeal in this work as a successful teacher. 

Captain "Wartmann, in all his positions, public and private, 
has been a careful, painstaking gentleman ; a man of thorough 
culture, and bound to secure respect wherever he is known. 




John F. Glover. 



HE career of Mr Glover can not be considered an event- 
ful one. He has preierred the quiet walks of life and 
has worked earnestly to improve the character and condition of 
that class of society so often neglected in our educational and 
religious institutions. 

John F. Glover was born near Harrisburgh, Pennsylva- 
nia, on the 29th of March, 1814. His grandfather was a Rev- 
olutionary soldier, and Joseph Glover, his father, served in the 
War of 1812. John remained at home, going to school and 
working in his father's mill, till 1827, when he engaged for 
fifty cents a day to work on the Pennsylvania Canal. He drove 
a cart and worked in the office for over two years ; when desir- 
ous of having a regular trade, he entered the store of Abraham 
Oves, a distinguished merchant of Harrisburgh. John was 
regularly apprenticed and served in various capacities, as sales- 
man, etc, for over five years. He then removed to Louisville 
and engaged in his uncle's extensive lumber-yard till 1838, 
when by his savings and credit, he went into the retail grocery 
business. At this time he was married to Miss Lucinda 0. 
Simons, daughter of A. L. Simons, an old resident of Louisville 
and one of its most respected citizens. In a short time, how- 
ever, he again returned to the lumber trade, associating with 
himself his brother-in-law, W. «8. Davis. Their trade was con- 
tinuing with fair success, when Mr. G- determined to remove 
to Evansville and establish a lumber-yard at this place. 

In December, 1852, Mr. G. arrived in the city, and at once 
opened a lumber-yard on the corner of Main and Seventh 
streets. Since his entry into this city his career has been 
marked by unwavering integrity and commendable enterprise. 

Mr. Glover is most successful as an organizer of Sunday 
schools, having joined the M. E. Church at Harrisburgh, and 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 59 

previous to his arrival in Evansville, having acted as Superin- 
tendent of the Brock Street M. E. Sunday School for over ten 
years ; and we might with truth say that, from his fifth year, 
when he joined the Lutheran Sunday School, of Harrisburgh, 
he lias been laboring as scholar, teacher, or officer in this cause. 
Mr. G. was Superintendent of the Ingle Street Mission Sunday 
School for over three years ; but it was reserved for him to act 
in a still more honorable capacity, as the Superintendent of the 
City Mission Sunday School, which occupied the hall now used 
by the Commercial College. The school had been in operation 
for several years, and was prospering finely, when some of its 
officers joined the army, and the large number of scholars began 
to dwindle, till at length the small number of one hundred met 
at the Court-house. At this juncture Mr. Glover was asked to 
take charge of the work ; and, after considerable urging, both 
from teachers and scholars, he consented. Rooms were obtained 
in the Crescent City Hall, now known as the <: Commercial 
School," and in a short time, owing to the co-operation of the 
several Evangelical churches, the school increased from month 
to month ; till at length about a thousand scholars were enrolled. 
The last year of Mr. G.'s administration, six hundred names 
were on the register, with an average of five huudred and four 
pupils. Miss E. E. Johnson, the well-known Christian lady, 
was associated with him several months. 

A leading element of the success of this Sabbath School 
was Music ; which department was under the leadership of 
Professor C. C. Genung, organist, and W. W. Tileston, Esq., 
chorister ; the former having given several years labor in his 
line, the latter was connected with the school from its organiza- 
tion until its disbandment, in 1868. The School performed a 
good and lasting work, and Mr. Glover will ever be remem- 
bered in connection with his many pecuniary sacrifices to pro- 
mote the good cause ; his earnestness and foresight in providing 
the children with the means and opportunities of becoming good 
men and women. The school was brought to a high degree of 
perfection after years of struggling and experimenting, and only 
stopped on account of the leasing of their hall to other parties. 
Mr. G. has often remarked that "this 'Mission' was the 
pleasantest work of his life," and he expects to return to it 



60 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

again. Our subject was also Superintendent of Trinity M. E. 
Sunday School for three year*?, and at present is teacher of one 
of its Bible classes. 

A prudent merchant ; devoted to Christian work ; enter- 
prising in all his philanthropic plans — we trust that it will be 
long before he will be taken from his field, as " guardian of the 
poor people's children." 



Daniel Morgan, M. D. 




HE Morgans are of Welsh extraction ; and, as early as 
1638, James Morgan came to Connecticut. He served 
the colony six times in the General Court, and occupied a 
prominent position in the colonial debates. Isaac Morgan, the 
father of Daniel, was a farmer ; and was born and raised in 
Windham County Canterbury, of that county, claims Daniel 
as its son ; as he first saw light there, on the 22d of March, 
1813. He was educated at the Brooklyn High School, Phillips 
Academy, Andover, Mass., and Plainfield Seminary. After 
completing his literary course, he studied medicine with Dr. A. 
T. Harris, of Canterbury ; Hubbard, of Yale ; and David Mor- 
gan, of Hartford, and attended a full course of lectures at the 
Yale Medical College, matriculating in 1835. In the Spring of 
1837, be came to Evansville and was associated with Dr. M. J. 
Bray. Though only twenty-four years of age, he was soon in 
the possession of a large practice ; and as a medical practitioner 
was well and favorably known. 

In 1839, he was married to Miss Matilda Fisher, daughter 
of Samuel Fisher, of Lynchburg, Virginia. 

His prompt and industrious habits, and close attention to 
the wants of his patients, have won for him an enviable posi- 
tion in the profession, In 1871, he was elected to a chair in 
the Evansville Medical College, as Professor of Diseases of Wo- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 61 

men and Children — a position for which he is peculialy adapted, 
both from study and actual practic e. 

Previous to 1868, Dr. Morgan had taken no part in politi- 
cal life ; but in that year, he was nominated by the Democratic 
party as its candidate for the State Senate, and was elected 
against the supposed sentiment of the party. Few men in the 
Legislature made a better impression than Dr. Morgan. His 
integrity and stability reflected honor on that body, and he 
looked faithfully after the interests of this county, and exerted 
an influence which has resulted in many advantages for Evans- 
ville and this section of the State. 

If he has attained to those years of " the sere and yellow 
leaf," he may be seen, day after day, visiting his many patients, 
and exhibiting that admirable physique which has characterized 
his sturdy ancestors : Tall in stature ; ponderous in weight — 
his appearance is striking, and well calculated to attract atten- 
tion. He has seen an obscure town increase to t,he present city 
of thirty thousand inhabitants ; and his experience is rich in 
the annals of the Crescent City. Few professional men have 
ever enjoyed the confidence of the people to a greater degree 
than has fallen, with strictest justice, to the lot of Dr. Morgan. 



L S. Herr, M. D. 



.?' ( /^[[ HE Herrs arrived from Holland, somewhere about 1700 
~^!g^ and settled in Virginia and Maryland. John Herr 
was descended from the Virginia branch of the family, and was 
born in Harrisburgh, Pennsylvania. In 1827, at the age of 
forty-seven, he removed to Ohio and made his home in what is 
now known as Ashland County. His son, L. S. Herr, was 
born h^re, on the 3d of February, 1828. His parents were 
killed near Canton Ohio, by the falling of a tree on their car- 
riage, while making a return trip to Pennsylvania. An elder 



62 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

brother now took care of the young lad, and had him well 
trained in the common schools of the neighborhood. He 
taught two terms of school before he was seventeen years of 
age, and was so diligent in his studies that he was then pre- 
pared to enter Wooster College, from which he graduated in 
1848. He commenced the study of medicine with Dr. T. W. 
Sampsel, of Ashland ; attended a full course of lectures at the 
Ohio Medical College ; and matriculated in the Winter of 1851 
-2. His first field of labor was at Peoria, Illinois, and the first 
year his practice amounted to over two thousand dollars. After 
remaining three years in Peoria, and obtaining a large share of 
practice, he resolved to visit Mexico. His success as a surgeon 
and physician for over three years, in the City of Mexico 
was so great, that the "American doctor " was highly com- 
mended by all. His love for the United States caused him to 
return ; and we next find him in St. Louis, where he. remained 
till 1860, when he removed to Quincy, Illinois. In 1862, after 
he had studied the Homoeopathic system, and carefully watched 
its workings for years, he embraced the new faith ; and, till 
1863, was one of its most prominent practitioners in that city. 
In that year he removed to Evansville, which has since been 
his home. 

Dr. Herr is a sagacious and prudent physician, and brings 
to his practice the study and experience of years. He is not 
only an excellent professional gentleman, but is also an agree- 
able companion ; whose conversation is replete with many rich 
anecdotes and stories of foreign life. 

He was married in 1858 to Miss Sophia Fetter, daughter 
of Christian Fetter, a distinguished physician of Baltimore, 
Maryland. 




CAPT. H. T. DEXTER 



Captain Henry T. Dexter 



JIIN the revolution in commerce, brought about by the 
'%!**) agency of steam on the Ohio River, Captain Henry T. 
Dexter played a most important part. He was born on the 
18th of August, 1818, in the Western part of New York. His 
youth was passed in Western Virginia, whither his parents had 
removed. He there learned the trade of glass-blowing, and 
was brought into contact with steamboatmen, which induced 
him to become identified with steamboat interests. 

In 1840 he ran his first fleet of flat-boats down the Ohio 
from Pittsburgh. In quick succession, he built the steamers 
Lowell, Muskingum Valley, and Newark, and commanded all 
of them in their lines on the Upper Ohio. In 1849, while com- 
mander of the steamer Malta, a boat which he had built, he 
made several trips from Cincinnati to St. Louis, and thereby 
became acquainted with this city. From 1856 to 1857, he was 
busy in building and commanding boats for the Upper Ohio, 
between Zanesville and Parkersburgh, where he had established 
a daily line. In 1857, the movement was agitated to establish a 
daily packet line between Evansville and Paducah, which was 
also extended to Cairo. The J. H. Done and Silver Star were 
placed in the trade, but the Done was soon withdrawn ; and on 
the 11th of November, 1858, the Charley Bowen, commanded by 
Captain Dexter, took her place. The Captain's brusque and 
genial remark to our citizens from the hurricane deck of his 
steamer, was : " We have come to stay ! " 

The lively competition between the Star and the Bowen 
ended only when the Star caught fire, near the Curlew mines, 
and burned. In the Evansville and Cairo packet trade, Capt. 
Dexter introduced steamer after steamer — the Charmer, Supe- 
rior, Courier and Armada ; all of which enjoyed a rare popu- 



64 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

larity in their day. In December. 1866, he placed the magnifi- 
cent steamer Quickstep in his packet line ; and in 1869 the 
famous City of Evansville — whose loss by burning at our wharf 
on the 6th of March, was a matter of universal regret. He 
also purchased for himself and partners the Arkansas Belle, and 
placed her in the Cairo mail line ; and she is still in the service. 

In the life of Captain Dexter, there were many incidents 
where the metal, nerve, and presence of mind of a man were 
sorely teste,d. He was in command and on board of the Phart- 
tom when she blew up at Smithland, killing and injuring very 
many persons ; he was in command when his boat collided with 
Captain Hugo's little steamer; but most of all, in the days of 
the war, when the banks of the River were lined with guerril- 
las, who picked off victim after victim from passing steamers. 
Yet, in all these situations, Captain Dexter displayed the high- 
est and best traits of humanity — always cool and courageous, 
he seemed to wear a charmed life in the midst of the dangers 
and casualties through which he passed. A single piece of 
artillery which he had placed on his boat during the war, as a 
protection in case of emergency, now serves as a hitching-post 
in front of his residence, on Locust street. There was no haz- 
ard from which Captain Dexter shrank ; no toil which he could 
not endure ; and no kind act which he was not ever ready to 
perform. He was such a man in his honorable public positions, 
while in private life he was marked by even greater amplitude 
of noble traits. His large heart was solicitous for the welfare 
of others ; his sympathies ever open to the cry of distress. All 
who knew him were his friends — for he had no enemies while 
living ; and at his death, May 30th, 1872, a whole community 
shared the grief of a sorrow-stricken family. 

Captain Dexter was a Knight-Templar in the Masonic fra- 
ternity, an order to which he was very much attached, and of 
which he was a most exemplary member. 

He was married on the 5th of July, 1840, to Miss Mary 
Ellen McNamee, and his widow still survives him. Five child- 
ren were the fruit of this union — three sons and two daughters. 
Miss Irene Dexter, the elder, was married to Captain G-. J. 
Grammar, and died only last April. The younger daughter is 




HON. WM. F. PAREETT. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 65 

the wife of Mr. J. E. Lilly, of the firm of Lilly & Phelan. The 
older sons, Mr. John and Harry, are well known in this city, 
and the youngest, Master Charles, is a promising young man. 



Judge William F. Parrett. 

'SJaOfTAS bom on his father's farm, near Blairsville, Posey 




'•■-' 



County, Indiana, on the 10th of August, 1825. His 
father, Robert Parrett, was of that pioneer stock that emigrated 
into the young State in 1821. Here he passed through those 
trying scenes of frontier life which bore so heavily on this por- 
tion of the land. When William was only six months old, his 
father removed to Vanderburgh County, on land now within 
the city limits, and known as Parrett's Enlargement and Good- 
selville. As a boy, his time was spent in clearing the heavy 
timber and going to school — the latter as opportunity presented 
itself, This, with his early home-training and the careful read- 
ing of the books which came in his way, in connection with a 
short course at Asbury University, was his educational endow- 
ment, up to the time of his entering the law office of Conrad 
Baker. He remained with Mr. Baker only one year, and was 
admitted to the bar in 1848. He was known by everybody as 
pleasant and sociable in his manners ; fond of telling a good 
story, and telling it well, and was regarded with much affection 
by young and old. Mr. Parrett was fortunate in having for his 
legal preceptor a strong, common-sense business man, who was 
well versed in the principles of the law, and tried his causes 
not only in the light of precedents, but also in the wider spirit 
of reason and principle. Mr. Parrett commenced his career as 
a lawyer at Boonville, and remained there till 1852, when he 
crossed the plains and pursued the profession at Lafayette and 
Portland, Oregon, for over two and a half years. The practice 
was large and lucrative. 
9 



66 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

He now returned to Evansville and formed a partnership 
with Judge Lockhart, an able jurist and influential politician, 
who was afterward elected to Congress, and died while a mem- 
ber of that body, in 1857. Before the death of Judge Lock- 
hart, Mr. Parrett had opened an office at Boonville, though the 
partnership lasted till his death, as above stated. Mr. Parreti 
was a Presidential Elector in 1856, and cast the vote of Indiana 
for James Buchanan. He returned to Evansville in 1859, and 
was appointed, in that year, Judge of the -old Fifteenth Judicial 
District, then designated as the First Circuit, by the Legislature 
of 1838-9. His term expired in October, 1859. His decisions 
were made in plain, clear language, fully displaying his knowl- 
edge of law, and his intimate acquaintance with nature and the 
ordinary affairs of life. He next ran as an independent candi- 
date — though mostly supported by Democrats — for the same 
position, and was elected by a majority of fourteen hundred 
over his opponent, the well-known Judge Pitcher, of Mount 
Vernon. The district was nearly equally divided, and his ma- 
jority illustrates his popularity as a Judge with the people at 
large. In 1865, his name was placed on both the Republican 
and Democratic tickets, and he was elected without opposition. 
This compliment was only a just tribute to the faithfulness and 
ability with which he had discharged the delicate duties of his 
office. After three and a half years service, he resigned, and 
formed a partnership with General Shackelford, which contin- 
ued for one year and a half. This firm was in the enjoyment 
of a civil, criminal, and chancery practice rarely equaled in the 
history of the business relations of any legal firm in the State. 

Again Judge Parrett was called to the bench, as being ap- 
pointed Judge of the First Circuit, formed of Vanderburgh and 
Posey Counties, by the Legislature of 1872-3, and which posi- 
tion he occupies at the present time. Judge Parrett's success 
has been the result of studious habits and ceaseless energy. 
His sole aim has been justice ; and from his first term as Judge 
his influence and reputation for fair rulings have been on an 
ascending scale. With Judge Parrett on the bench, business 
was dispatched with promptness and ability. His legal argu- 
ments, his familiarity with the practice, and courtesy of man- 
ners while on the bench, have commended him to the bar, and 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 67 

his manner of unbending himself when off the bench, has made 
him equally popular in the social circle. He has served as 
Trustee of the Schools, and was identified for several years with 
their management. He takes great pride in his law and private 
libraries, which are among the most extensive in the State and 
which comprise many rare and costly works. Politically, he 
has acted with the Democratic party, and has generally sup- 
ported its measures. During the war, he stood by the Govern- 
ment and aided, in an efficient manner, in crushing the Rebel- 
lion. Judge Parrett may well be called a representative, native 
born Indianian ;' and for nearly forty-seven years he has been 
associated with the growth of this city and section. We .can 
not believe but what still higher honors await him. As a native 
of our soil, we believe that his career points out a striking 
example for the ambitious and deserving. 



Alexander Murdoch Gow, 



SUPEBINTBNDENT OF SCHOOLS. 



.^ffljl\ESCENDED from Scotch-Irish ancestors, who settled 
^ABy i n Western Pennsylvania at an early day ; was born 
on the 18th of March, 1828, in Washington, Washington Co., 
Pennsylvania, and graduated at Washington College in the Fall 
of 1847 — one of a class of thirty-three young men. After 
graduation he made an extended tour of the New England 
States, visiting the principal institutions of an educational and 
reformatory character, accompanying his father, who had been 
appointed as Visitor to the Military Academy of West Point. 
On his return, he commenced the study of law in his father's 
office. As the common schools of his native town were ineffi- 
cient, Mr. Gow was induced to suspend his legal studies for a 
time and attempt their reformation. In this work he labored, 



68 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

without interruption for seven years ; being instrumental in se- 
curing the erection of one of the finest school buildings at that 
time in the State. Mr. Gow was admitted to the bar in 1857. 
Accepting an invitation to take charge of an institution, he re- 
moved to Dixon, Illinois, in the Fall of 1857. The financial 
convulsion of the succeeding year overwhelmed the new enter- 
prise in which he engaged, and, in 1859, he became Superin- 
tendent of the Dixon Public Schools, in which he labored three 
years. During this time he received a very flattering invitation 
from the Hon. Thos. H. Bnrrowes, State Superintendent, to re- 
turn to his native State to take the position of Deputy State 
Superintendent of Public Instruction. He was appointed by 
the Hon. Newton Bateman a member of the Committee of Ex- 
amination, to confer the State diploma upon professional teach- 
ers in the State of Illinois. Feeling a deep interest in the pro- 
motion of the study of Natural History, he became one of the 
first corporate members of the Natural History Society of Illinois, 
and was subsequently chosen a Vice-President of the organiza- 
tion. For two years he was the editor of the Illinois Teacher, 
the organ of the Department of Public Instruction, and of the 
State Teachers' Association. 

From the city of Dixon he was called to a wider field of 
labor, as Superintendent of the Rock Island City Schools, where 
he resided till the Fall of 1867. when he removed to Indiana, 
to take charge of the Public Schools of Evansville. In this 
city he has resided for six years ; during which time the number 
of teachers and children have nearly doubled. During his stay 
in Indiana he was elected President of the State Teachers' 
Association, and has been identified as a member of the State 
Board of Education, with some of the prominent educational 
reforms of the State. 



Thomas Scantlin. 



J^JSLaMES SCANTLIN was born of Irish parents, in Lou- 
^mf% isville, Kentucky, in 1796. He was apprenticed to a 
tinner, and lived in that city during the "War of 1812. He 
removed to Lexington, where Thomas was born, on the 9th of 
August, 1814. His father was also in the tinning business at 
Shelbyville, and the lad here had a few weeks schooling. The 
family, in 1819, landed at Evansville and passed on to Pike 
County, where the father was employed, both as a tinner and 
farmer. The same year he located in Princeton, where he lived 
till 1833 ; he then removed to Evansville, where he opened the 
first tin-shop. Thomas attended school a few months in Prince- 
ton, but was chiefly engaged in either working on the farm or 
aiding in the shop work. His father opened a tinning estab- 
lishment on his arrival in the city, and Thomas worked with 
him till 1835, when his father gave him credit for fifty dollars' 
worth of stock, and he opened a little shop at Princeton. After 
paying for his transportation he was without money ; but after 
seven months' hard work, he found he had earned one hundred 
and fifty dollars. 

He was married here to Miss Eleanor Jane Parvin, daugh- 
ter of Washington Parvin, an old and respected citizen of 
Princeton. 

His father, anxious for his return, offered him an interest 
in the firm. The partnership lasted till 1838, when his father 
removed to Princeton. Their business extended itself gradu- 
ally, as money was very hard to be obtained. He now added 
a full supply of stoves, etc. ; having obtained credit from the 
French Brothers, of Cincinnati, who had great confidence in the 
young mechanic. The stock, costing sixteen hundred dollars, was 
" slow " in meeting with a sale ; as stoves were a luxury to the 
early inhabitants; and it took over three years to dispose of 



70 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

even this small stock. He went on in this way, and thought a 
profit of five hundred dollars a year was doing well. In 1841 
his father returned, and they were associated till 1844. From 
1844 the business was conducted by himself; and he was think- 
ing of increasing his annual product, when his entire stock was 
destroyed by fire. The insurance was not enough to cover half 
the value of the loss. Never despairing, he rented, temporarily, 
a room, and erected a new store-house. His son, James M. 
Scantlin, was associated with him, and their business was again 
on a rapid increase — their wares finding sale in all directions. 
In 1871 the firm engaged in the foundry business, and com- 
menced the manufacture of stoves, grates, mantels, etc. Beside 
their sales in the city, their jobbing trade in the South is very 
extensive. In January, 1873, his son, Thomas E., was admitted 
to the firm, and aids, efficiently, as manager of the sales depart- 
ment. Both father ?nd sons are well known ; their ability and 
financial skill are fully illustrated by the successful manage- 
ment of one of the leading foundries of the city ; they are 
earnest workers in whatever direction their energies are exerted. 
Our subject has served two terms in the City Council, and has 
been associated with many of the public enterprises of the city. 
He is an earnest friend of the Public Schools. 




Soren Sorenson. 



3 AS born in Aarhaus, Denmark, on the 16th of Sep- 
tember, 1810. Eskel Sorenson, his father, was a 
school teacher, and Soren was well drilled in the rudiments of 
the common branches. Soren taught ten years, with great suc- 
cess ; during which time he was married, at the age of twenty- 
two, to Miss Emmeline Hanson. In December, 1837, with his 
family, he sailed for New Orleans, with the intention of going 
to Mexico ; but the Civil War, then raging, changed his plan, 



Bvansville and its Men of Mark. 71 

and he came up the river and stopped, accidentally, at Evans- 
ville ; arriving here in the latter part of January, 1838. He 
at first farmed for two years, and then removed to Blairsville, 
where he kept a country store for over four years. At the latter 
place he had the misfortune to lose his wife and children. He 
next removed to Mount Vernon, where he taught school a year, 
and afterward served as Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court one 
year, as well as a term as Recorder. In January, 1846, he re- 
turned to Evansville and acted as book-keeper for Allis & 
Howes, wholesale grocers, over nine years. In company with 
R. S. Tenney, he bought out the above firm, and till 1859, the 
firm of Tenney & Sorenson was well known as one of the lead- 
ing houses of the city. From 1859 to 1861, Mr. S. continued 
the business in his own name ; and, in that year, retired from 
the business altogether. From 1850 to 1861 Mr. S. was City 
Treasurer, and in 1866 and 1867 he was Assistant Assessor U. 
S. Internal Revenue. In 1868 he was elected Clerk of the Cir- 
cuit Court, by a majority of ten votes; and in 1872, was 
re-elected by a majority of eight hundred and thirty-nine. 
Formerly a Douglas Democrat, he has since that eventful period 
acted with the Republican party. He is in the enjoyment of good 
health, and is possessed of unusual physical powers. Affection- 
ate and courteous in his manner toward all — there is no more 
popular official in this district than the warm-hearted subject 
of this article. 



Judge M. W. Foster. 



$SHjjj?ATTHEW WATSON FOSTER was born in Giles- 
iSlS? field, County of Durham, England, on the 22d of 
June, 1800. When a boy, he was apprenticed to a bookseller, 
and in that way became a great reader and remarkably well 
informed, both upon literary and legal topics. He removed to 
New York in 1812; came West, to Edwards County, Illinois, 
in 1817, and removed to Pike County, Indiana, in 1819, where 
he was Associate-Judge of the Circuit Court several years. He 
was engaged for some years in taking produce from Pike County 
to New Orleans in fiat-boats, and on several occasions returned 
on foot through an almost unbroken wilderness. In 1828 he 
commenced business in Petersburgh — then Knox County — and 
continued in active service as a merchant, farmer, or miller, 
in Pike County, till 1846, when he removed, with his fam- 
ily, to Evansville, where he resided till his death, on the 13th 
of April, 1863. If the people ever desired an honest, intelli- 
gent, sensible opinion on any matter of business or public inter- 
est, they could always be sure of one from him. 

On his removal to Evansville he engaged actively in busi- 
ness, and immediately took a prominent position as one of our 
most enterprising, upright, enlightened and philanthropic citi- 
zens. In every public enterprise connected with this city, or 
for the benefit of his fellow men, Judge Foster's advice and as- 
sistance were always sought and never refused. Our railroads, 
our churches, our free schools and our public libraries testify to 
his generosity and enlightened mind. Plis patriotism was active, 
consistent, and enthusiastic. When the late war broke out, he 
was among the first to raise his voice and open his purse for 
recruits. Two of his sons early enlisted to fight for their coun- 
try ; and though the affairs of this nation grieved and oppressed 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 73 

him during his last days, the conviction that he, when able, had 
done his whole duty as a patriot ; and that one of his sons had 
merited and received distinction in defending the cause of lib- 
erty, cheered his last moments. 

In every relation in life he deported himself with honesty, 
faithfulness and propriety ; and his daily walk and conversa- 
tion was that of a straightforward, enlightened Christian. 

Judge Foster was married on the 18th of June, 1829, to 
Miss Eleanor Johnson, who died on the 22d of September, 1849, 
aged thirty-seven years. There were eight children born, of 
whom five are living. In 1851, he was married to Mrs. Sarah 
Kazar, widow of Nelson Kazar, who died in California in 1849. 
Two children were the result of the second union, and they are 
occupying useful positions in society. 

Judge Foster died as he had lived — a true, devoted Chris- 
tian. The city, a nation, and humanity lost a true and honest 
champion and friend. 




Dr. Isaiah Haas. 



|DAM HAAS, the father of Dr. I. Haas, was born 



in Virginia, December 25th, 1798, and in early man- 
hood removed to Newark, Ohio, where he was married to Miss 
Christina LaPert, of New York. At this place their eldest 
son, Isaiah, was born, February 22d, 1829. From thence he 
removed to Delaware County, Ohio, and commenced merchan- 
dising. In 1845 he removed to Wabash, the county-seat of 
Wabash County, Indiana, at which place he continued business 
as merchant until 1860. Isaiah Haas received a fair education 
— such as the schools of the locality furnished ; and when not 
at school, assisted his father in the store, as book-keeper and 
salesman. In 1849, when the Morse Electric Telegraph was 
being extended westwardly, an office was opened above the 
10 



74 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

store of Adam Haas, and a teacher was sent to instruct a young 
lawyer of the place how to manipulate the (at that time) won- 
derful instrument. The pupil failing to comprehend quickly 
what was demanded of an operator, and the instructor's time 
being limited, Colonel Hanna, one of the leading citizens of 
the place, solicited Isaiah to go up-stairs and learn to operate ; 
to which he consented, reluctantly, on account of the father's 
absence in New York, purchasing goods, and fearing that it 
might not meet with his approbation. In ten days thereafter 
he not only understood how to receive and send communica- 
tions, but many of the principles of the electric telegraph, and 
he also kept a supervision of the store until the return of his 
father. The next three or four years were devoted to his new- 
found love : and by the sense of hearing read its faintest mur- 
murings. During this time Ezra Cornell, Esq., of Ithaca, New 
York, the founder of Cornell University, became lessee of nearly 
a thousand miles of telegraph line, running in and through 
Ohio, Indiana, and Illinois. This great length of line, with all 
its offices, men, and material, he placed in the hands of I. Haas, 
as its Superintendent ; and the energetic and successful man- 
ner in which he managed the affairs, caused him to receive 
many flattering letters from Mr. Cornell. 

During this time he was married to Miss Adaline McHenry 
of Vincennes, who early fell a victim to consumption. Two 
children were born to them ; but, in three years all were gone ! 

Before leaving the telegraph, his attention was attracted to 
the profession of Dentistry ; and he felt that he could make 
his "mark" in that line and its practice would be more congenial 
to his tastes; and from that time forward he gave it his undivided 
attention ; having for his preceptors Prof. A. M. Morse, of La- 
fayette, Indiana, and Prof. Samuel Wardle, of Cincinnati, Ohio, 
both eminent men in the profession. Prior to coming to Evans- 
ville, he spent some seven years in Lafayette, Indiana. 

In 1857 he was married to Miss Sarah K. McHenry, a sister 
of his first wife. 

In the early part of 1859 he was on his way South, with 
his wife and child, for the purpose of visiting friends ; being 
unable to get a boat, because the river was so low, he was de- 
tained in this city two days, and met old friends, unexpectedly, 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 75 

who insisted on his making this his future home : setting forth 
the outcome to the city in such glowing terms, as to cause him 
to lease rooms of Dr. Bray, an eminent surgeon of this city, 
prior to his return North. A few weeks afterward we find 
him a permanent resident of the city of Evansville. He also 
assisted Dr. Bray in his surgical operations for seven years ; 
and the Doctor states that Dr. Haas has no superior as an 
assistant-surgeon in the State of Indiana. Parties who remove 
from the city return great distances for their dental work ; and 
the extent of his practice makes him the most prominent dentist 
of the State. His experience and reputation increase every 
year. Our business men have sold goods to merchants from 
abroad, because those merchants wished Dr. H. to do their 
dentistry, His success in practice is remarkable ; and while an 
inventor for the good of the profession, he has refused to take 
out patents, or enter into that kind of business. His high 
ideal of his profession is equaled only by his great achieve- 
ments. Dr. Haas has had a distinguished Masonic career — 
as Master of Evansville Lodge, No. 64, A. F. & A. M., for sev- 
eral terms ; as officer of the Grand Lodge of the State, one 
year ; as District Deputy Master, four years ; and as Lecturer 
of the District, four years. His knowledge of Masonic law and 
land-marks, added to his exposition of the same, has made him 
a marked man in the order. 




ft. Q. Wheeler, 

Father of oitr Free Schools. 

?/HE crowning glory of Evansville is her Free Schools ; 
and to these may be traced, in a great measure, the 
secret of her growth and prosperity. The person of whom we 
offer a brief sketch was not only among the originators of the 
present educational system, but also its constant friend and 
overseer, from the date of the organization till his removal 
from the city, in 1866. He was born in Chesterville, Maine, in 
1819. At the age of twenty-one, entered Bowdoin College 
and graduated in 1844. His was a student's nature ; and he 
worked with a zest, not only at the regular classical course, but 



76 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

also upon subjects which afforded his mind an ample field for 
thought and dissertation. He studied law with John S. Abbott 
and John S. Tenney — then Chief-Justice of Maine — and was 
admitted to practice in the Supreme Court in 1846. In the Fall 
of that year he went to Evansville ; and in the Spring of 1847 
formed a partnership with Mr. John Ingle, Jr. Subsequently, 
Asa Iglehart, Esq., was admitted a member of the firm. This 
firm, as spoken of elsewhere, was engaged in many intellectual 
contests, and maintained a commanding position amidRt a 
galaxy of the best legal talent in the state. Mr. Wheeler's forte 
was that of a counselor and legal adviser ; his intimate acquaint- 
ance with the best writers gave him a knowledge of authorities 
and precedents which, for the time being, made him master of 
the situation. 

In 1853, when the first Free-School law went into opera- 
tion, he was appointed, with Christian Decker and William 
Hughes, as trustee ; and although others filled the places of 
Messrs. Decker and Hughes, he remained at the helm for over 
twelve years. The school law at first did not provide for a su- 
perintendent ; and for a large portion of the twelve years of 
his labor as trustee, he also filled, acceptably, this position. His 
scholarly attainments, added to his energy as an executive, 
gave to his project a success scarcely hoped for at the outset. 
Having to combat the prejudices of many who were inimical to 
a free system, his course was extremely hazardous, and the 
teachers, also, were not all either fitted by education or experi- 
ence for this most important work. It must be borne in mind, 
too, that this was the first experiment of the free system, and 
its enemies were foretelling its downfall ; but despite the croak- 
ing of foes, its growth has been steady and constant — and to- 
day Evansville is justly proud of her schools ; and their Super- 
intendent can point to a progress almost unrivaled in the history 
of the common schools of any city in the Union. 

Since 1866, Mr. Wheeler has resided at Portland, Maine; and 
though absent from the scenes of his early trials and successes, 
the old citizens will remember the man who had the ability to 
infuse his own energy into all his assistants; the careful disci- 
pline that characterized his work; and the self-abnegation he 
exhibited throughout his entire course. 




Christian Decker. 



\F the many German citizens who have contributed so 
V largely to increase the influence of the city, we find 
Christian Decker ; who has aided, directly, more than any 
other individual, in bringing his countrymen to Evansville. 
Hundreds of Germans have heard of Evansville and this sec- 
tion through his letters addressed to friends. Many are the 
letters that he has answered, in reference to a location here. 
How cheerfully the new-comers were received, and the pecuni- 
ary aid afforded to those in humble circumstances ! Many live 
to-day to bless the name of Christian Decker, who might aptly 
be termed the " Father of the Germans." 

He was born in Hesse Darmstadt, on the 10th of March, 
1808. His education was obtained in the common schools ; and 
when fifteen years of age, he was apprenticed to a wagon-maker. 
After the expiration of three years, he traveled over South- 
western Germany and visited Vienna, where he remained sev- 
eral years. In 1834 he worked upon the first railroad 
passenger coach manufactured in Germany. His recollections 
of Germany, especially Vienna, are very vivid. Id 1835, after 
a voyage of forty-two days in a sailing vessel, be landed in New 
York. Worked for a while in Newark, New Jersey ; eight 
months in New Haven, Connecticut ; and then, till the Spring 
of 1837, for James Gould, the celebrated coach-maker of Albany, 
New York. In May, of that year, he arrived at Evansville ; 
and as he noticed that this was a healthy site, he determined 
to remain in the city. He worked first as a jou&neyman, but in 
six months he commenced as a manufacturer, on Third street ; 
and for twenty-seven years built wagons, using hand-tools, only, 
in their construction. He then removed to the corner of Main 
and Fifth streets, where he erected a large factory, introducing 
steam-power and all the modern machinery needful for the 



78 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

construction of wagons and carriages. Mr. Decker built the 
first carriage of home manufacture, and has, in successive years, 
turned out a large number of vehicles which have not only- 
added to his reputation as a builder, but have also greatly ad- 
vanced the interests of Evansville as a manufacturing center % 

Mr. Decker was one of the founders of the Zion Evangel- 
ical Church, and for over twenty years was one of its deacons. 
He was among the first Trustees of the Free Schools, and an 
early advocate of the anti-slavery doctrines of the Free Soil 
party, and its successor, the Republican organization. 

He was married in 1837, to Miss Anna M. Griess, who ar- 
rived in the State a short time after his arrival in Evansville. 

Now advanced to mature years, our subject, with his pow- 
ers well preserved, lives to see his humble store supplanted by 
a large factory ; the little band of Germans increase into the 
thousands ; and a city, whose name alone is typical of a rapid 
progress, from an insignificant village to a metropolis, with its 
adjuncts of extensive factories and all the accompaniments of a 
mighty city. 




Colonel Philip Hornbrook. 



^OR nearly fifty - four years Philip Hornbrook has 
watched the growth of the Crescent City, and has 
noted her gradual change, from a straggling village to the me- 
tropolitan position she occupies to-day. Perfectly familiar with 
her " unwritten history," if he had time and opportunity, he 
could relate a tale, which for originality and interest would 
excel any of the border romances of the Far West. 

Saunders Hornbrook was a woolen manufacturer in Devon- 
shire, England ; his son, Philip, was born on the 16th of March, 
1810. The family sailed for America in 1819, and arrived in 
Hampton Roads, Va., in August of that year. They came in a 
sloop to Georgetown, D. C, and thence by wagon to Wheeling, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 79 

Virginia. Here they engaged a flat-boat, and after a long and 
tedious trip, arrived at Evansville, on the 20th of December, 
1819. Mr. Hornbrook purchased a large amount of land, and 
at one time owned fourteen quarter-sections in Scott Township, 
about ten miles from the village ; and as there was much tim- 
ber to be removed, the reader can have some idea of the hard 
work Philip performed for many years. The lad had attended 
school for about five years in his native country, and as his 
father was an educated gentleman, and his mother a lady of 
superior attainments of mind and character, his situation was 
immeasurably better than that of their neighbors' children. 
Philip attended school three months in Kentucky ; but beside 
his home instruction, little was obtained to benefit his mind in 
fighting life's battle. His father, also, for many years carried 
on a store, wool and carding-machine and a cotton-gin. The 
business was largely extended — the farmers coming for many 
miles to have their wants supplied, and attend to the various 
industries incidental to farm life. Philip assisted his father in 
the store and elsewhere ; and we have the testimony of some of 
the old citizens, who relate many incidents of his sharpness 
and business skill, even when a boy. No task was so difficult 
but what he would attempt it — and being of an obliging tem- 
perament, he often wearied himself in assisting the settlers 
upon any and all occasions ; and his services were often re- 
quested, as he was unusually active and strong. 

He was married in 1837, to Miss Mary Sampson, formerly 
of Boston, Massachusetts. 

In 1839 his father died, and Philip succeeded to the mer- 
cantile and farming interests, and soon disposed of the wool 
and carding-machine and the cotton-gin. He was engaged at 
the old location several years, and in 1848 removed to Evans- 
ville and engaged in the grocery and bakery line, on Main 
street. In 1851 he removed to his present location, on Water 
street, and which has been the headquarters for river men, citi- 
zens and farmers, ever since. 

Mr. Hornbrook was Trustee of the Schools from 1853 to 
18G0 ; and we can truly say that they never had a better 
friend. For several years he was Secretary of the Vanderburgh 
County Agricultural Society. From 18G1 to 1865 he was mili- 



80 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

tary agent of the State of Indiana, with the rank of colonel. 
For four years he was commissary of the Southern Relief Asso- 
ciation of Evansville. As a friend of the soldier, many a tear- 
ful woman and anxious parent can testify to his untiring 
labors in their behalf. In 1869 Colonel Hornbrook was 
appointed Surveyor of Customs and Collector of the port of 
Evansville ; and he discharged the duties of his position in a 
manner profitable to the Government, and honorable to himself. 
This brief sketcb gives but a faint idea of his long career, 
as a pioneer merchant and public-spirited citizen. We can 
only say that he has been faithful in every position, and not a 
stain is left upon his career as a business man and patriot. 



Henry F. Blount. 




HE stranger who passes up Main street is attracted by 
the peculiar countenance of the man who looks more 
like the late Charles Dickens, than any of his numerous pictures 
and photographs. Upon inquiry, the person is found to be 
Henry F. Blount, of whom we append a brief notice : 

He was born in Richmond, Ontario County, New York, on 
the lstot May, 1829, and was the son of Walter Blount, a 
woolen manufacturer who emigrated from Norwich, Connecticut, 
at an early day, and located in Western New York, when that 
part of the country was called, the Far West. His education 
was such as the common schools afforded, and supplemented by 
four years experience as a clerk in a country store in an ad- 
joining county. After working at a salary of from six to ten 
dollars a week, he saved seventy-five dollars, and came West to 
Peoria, Illinois. With no acquaintance or recommendation, he 
trusted to his energies to procnre him a situation. A Mr. Lan- 
worthy, a merchant of Worthington. Indiana, was attracted by 
his appearance, and offered him a position in his store, and he 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 81 

eagerly proceeded to Ids new home. After working as a clerk 
two years, his employer offered him a full partnership in the 
concern. This generous offer was readily accepted by Mr. 
Blount ; and tor over eight years their business associations 
were very successful. After the abandonment of the Wabash 
and Erie Canal, Mr. Blount was desirous of obtaining a new 
location — as Worthington did not seem destined to become a 
much larger place, and the merchants generally were of the 
opinion that it had seen its best days. Mr. J. H. Roelker, of 
the Eagle Foundry, being in town, he asked our subject to pur- 
chase an interest in his foundry. He therefore secured Mr. 
Klusman's interest ; and the firm was known as Roelker, Blount 
& Co, for over eight years. We have elsewhere spoken of the 
large amount of stoves manufactured by this establishment. 
and they also owned a three- fourths interest in the Urie Plow 
Factory — the products of which were obtaining some note, as a 
new and useful article of trade. Mr. Blount purchased the 
firm's interest in the plow works, and also the individual share 
of Mr. Urie, and at once increased the capacity of their manu- 
facture ; made several improvements, and advertised their 
merits in the adjoining States, especially in the South. Even 
in Mexico, " Blount's Extra Point Steel Plows" are used, and 
the natives seemed to be pleased with the rather unique and 
economical arrangement. From eight to ten thousand plows 
are shipped annually ; and the factory gives employment to 
about thirty hands. This large trade does not altogether 
hold his attention ; as he has an extensive library, and is well 
versed upon the scientific and moral questions of the day. To 
one familiar with the standard authors, it is a pleasure to con- 
verse with Mr. Blount ; as his apt illustrations, his inimitable 
story-telling, and extensive fund of historic lore, make one feel 
that he is in the company of a man who delights in literature, 
and who finds it an agreeable task to go over the fields of fiction 
and questions of moral reform, with the purpose of securing 
correct ideas on the topics of the day. 



11 



Hon. Alexander G. Donald. 



,0N. ALEXANDER C. DONALD was born in Aber- 
deen, Scotland, May 6th, 1818. For some years 
before leaving home, he was a writer in the office of an advo- 
cate. When young, his ambition was to have a borne on the 
shores of the Ohio. Iu November, 1836, he sailed from Liver- 
pool ; and, after having been wrecked, landed in New York in 
May, 1837. He proceeded to Louisville, and thence to Van- 
derburgh County. He walked from Evansville to St. Louis in 
search of work ; but failing to find employment, he returned to 
Evansville, where he was hired as clerk in the branch bank of 
the State. From 1840 to 1845 he taught school in the country. 

In 1845 he married Nancy K. Duncan. From 1845 to 
1852 he was employed in teaching school in the Winter, and 
farming during the Summer In 1852 he was elected to the 
Legislature, on the Whig ticket, defeating Bailey W. Martin, by 
a majority of fifty-two votes. In 1850 he commenced the prac- 
tice of law, and at the same time acted as Deputy Clerk of the 
Court, under Dr. Lewis. He walked from Princeton to his 
farm — twelve miles — every Saturday evening, and returned by 
the same conveyance on Mondays, until December, 1855 ; at 
which time he moved to Princeton, and continued to act as 
Deputy Clerk until 1859 In 1860 he formed a partnership for 
the practice of law with Hon. Samuel Hall, which continued 
until the death of that distinguished gentlemau, in 1862. 

A man of versatile talents, ready wit, and apt judgment, 
Mr. Donald was by nature modeled for success in the legal pro- 
fession. His career in business, and also in teaching, were 
indicative of a strong mind and cultured habits ; but his pro- 
fessional experience was the crowning honor of his life. As a 
profound thinker and deep reasoner, his talents won for him 
a prominent position in that constellation of brilliant minds, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 83 

who have made Indiana the scene of their triumphs, and of 
whom only a few linger behind. 

Mr. Donald was an original Republican — opposed to 
slavery in any form, and fought a brave fight for the success of 
libera] principles. A Reformer in the true sense of the term, 
his earnest convictions of duty made him a firm friend of the 
oppressed — benefactor of the poor — and a patron of any and all 
projects for the improvement of the condition of the people. He 
died on the 27th of April, 1872; and the country mourns the 
loss of one so noted in the annals of the State. 



Hon. James Lockkart. 



^'^fjJcjROUND the name of James Lockhart, cluster the 
^M^i) recollections of a brave and gallant spirit; a refined 
and cultivated man ; an erudite jurist ; and a politician who 
understood so well the wants and necessities of Indiana. He 
was born in Auburn, New York, on the 13th of February, 1806. 
The eldest of eight children, he was forced to assist his father 
— Ephraim L. Lockhart — in the carding and fulling-mill busi- 
ness, and served a full apprenticeship in the same. During his 
leisure time, he devoted himself to studying the preparatory 
books for college, and enjoyed the privilege of a partial course. 
Owing to his lack of means, he was forced to relinquish his 
hope of being a graduate. He also studied law ; but was not 
addmitted to practice till after his arrival at Evansville, in 
1832. His name was familiar to the people as a leading lawyer 
for many years. His strong will and determined mind caused 
him to study carefully the cases presented to his charge ; and 
he, in spite of every obstacle, took a commanding position in 
the profession. For several years he acted as prosecuting 
attorney ; and for over seven years he served as Circuit Judge. 
Many are the pleasing memories of Judge Lockhart ; and he 
must have been an impartial and popular magistrate. 



84 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

In 1851 he was a member of the Constitutional Convention, 
and in that body exerted an influence second to none in the 
State. He was elected by the Democrats as a member of the 
Thirty-second Congress, and was a member elect of that body at 
the time of his death, in September, 1857. His health barely 
survived the first campaign ; and we have no doubt that his 
extreme labors as a public speaker were the cause of his un- 
timely death. Tall in person; weighing over two hundred 
pounds when in health ; and possessing a remarkable voice for 
public speaking, his presence on the stump was the signal for a 
great rally of his political friends, and even opponents. A 
keen and logical debater, his arguments were presented in a 
style peculiar to himself; and he won a distinction for political 
debates which has secured for him a lasting reputation. His 
career in Congress was such as to add to his fame ; and in 
Washington, as well as in Indiana, Judge Lockhart was re- 
garded as one of the " men of the times." 

He was married in 1835 to Miss Sarah G-. Negley, daugh- 
ter oi David Negley, an old resident of Pigeon Creek settle- 
ment. This estimable lady yet resides in the city, which has 
been her home for so many years. 



Samuel Bayard, Esq., 




INANCIAL ability has seldom been shown more con- 
spicuously than in the successful career of Mr. Sam- 
uel Bayakd. No city in the country can claim a citizen 
whose mind more thoroughly comprehends all the problems of 
banking ; whose daily life is more conscientiously devoted to 
his business ; and who is so thoroughly a representative Amer- 
ican gentleman and banker, as the subject of this sketch. No 
one can read the history of his life without gaining additional 
respect for the man, or without rejoicing that his energy and 
merit have won lor him a place among the leading bankers of 
Indiana. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 85 

Mr. Bayard is a native of Vincennes, Knox County, Indi- 
ana. His education was of the best the public schools at that 
day furnished. He acted, for a short time, as Deputy Clerk of 
the Circuit and Probate Courts of Knox County — a position 
he relinquished in September, 1851, to accept the clerkship of 
the branch at Evansville of the State Bank of Indiana. It 
was here that his genius for banking began to manifest itself; 
and the traits of business courtesy, punctuality, and strict in- 
tegrity, so well recognized in the mature man, were outlined 
from his first entrance upon his chosen life. He filled this sit- 
uation with such marked ability, that in November, 1851, only 
two months after the previous appointment, he was promoted 
to the position of Teller, and continued to act in that capacity 
until the final close of the bank, in 1858. 

In 1857 he was appointed Cashier of the branch at Evans- 
ville of the Bank of the State of Indiana ; and he also occu- 
pied this position until the close of the branch, in the year 1866 

When the time came to provide a successor to the branch 
of the Bank of the State of Indiana, Mr. Bayard's services 
were indispensable to the success of the new enterprise ; and 
at its organization, in 1865, he was elected cashier of the new 
banking corporation. Springing out of the loins of the old 
institution, it is due, largely, to the financial acumen of Mr. 
Bayard that the Evansville National Bank has shown the en- 
ergy of youth and the judgment of mature age. In 1867 he 
was made its Vice-President, and has been since that time 
virtually acting as President of the Bank. 

In 1864 Mr. Bayard was active in founding the banking 
firm of W. J. Lowry & Co., and still retains his connection with 
it. The credit and standing of the firm commands now, as it 
has in the past, the confidence of the general public at home 
and abroad. In the early part of the present year he aided in 
organizing the German National Bank, of this city, of which he 
is at present a director. In June, 1870, Mr. Bayard was elected 
a director of the Evansville, Carmi and Paducah Railroad 
Company ; which corporation was subsequently consolidated 
with the St. Louis and Southeastern Railway, and is now known 
as the Western Division of the St. Louis, Evansville and Nash- 
ville Railway, consolidated. He was then continued as a 



86 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

director, and at the last election was appointed by the Board of 
Directors a member of the Executive Committee, to whom is 
confided the management of the general business of the company. 

Mr. Bayard was one of the most influential citizens in the 
establishment of the Public Library ; having subscribed lib- 
erally toward its fund, and still carries his stock in that corpo- 
ration. The first meeting of its stockholders was held on July 
29th, 1855, and on December 31st, of the same year, Mr. John 
Ingle, Jr., was elected its President ; George Foster, Esq., its 
Recording Secretary ; and Mr. Bayard, its Treasurer. Mr. 
Bayard went to Cincinnati and purchased a large number of 
volumes for it — his excellent literary taste being relied upon 
tor good selections. He also served as its President. 

In all the corporations with which Mr. Bayard is connected 
he is an influential member. His name is the most powerful in 
the monetary circles of the city. Still in the prime and vigor 
of his life ; as attentive to business as when struggling in his 
upward career ; there is left for him a future of still larger pos- 
sibilities. A thorough and well-bred gentleman : courteous to 
all in his manner — his life has been the reward of patient, en- 
ergetic and intellectual effort. And the bank — the Evansville 
National — of which he is the recognized head, is the largest 
and most powerful monied institution of the city. 



General Joseph Lane. 



yo^iftEW there are who have not heard of General Joe Lane, 
^H@&M °f Oregon, who, from an obscure flat-boatman, on the 
Ohio River, has risen to some of the most prominent positions 
in the land. To-day he lives on the Pacific slope, far away 
from the scenes of his early struggles. He was born in North 
Carolina, in 1801, and was only six years of age when his father, 
John Lane, removed to Henderson County, Kentucky. What 
education he secured was obtained, at intervals, in some log- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 87 

house, where a man, who knew hie letters, acted as teacher. 
Joseph was a sharp, quick-witted boy — more fond of hunting 
than of books ; and, withal, was very popular with the pioneers, 
on account of his accommodating disposition. In 1818, his 
father removed to Vanderburgh County, and purchased a tract 
of land about nine miles from the Crescent Village. Here 
Joseph was invited by Judge Grass, who kept a store near Rock- 
port, to proceed there and act as a clerk in his establishment. 
He was at once regarded with favor by all who had business at 
the store, as he was well posted in stories of frontier life, and 
was kind and obliging. He next, in company with his brother 
Simon, bought a flat-boat; sold wood to the boats as they 
passed; made many trips to New Orleans; carried on a farm; dealt 
in stock, etc.; till the breaking ont of the Mexican War, when 
he began to secure recruits in Evansville and vicinity. Soon a 
large number of the hardy yeomanry were mustered into the 
service ; and our subject as their Colonel, was off for the scene 
of the war. His regiment was placed in the division com- 
manded by Taylor, and his exploits immediately attracted the 
attention of " Old Rough and Ready," who showed his confi- 
dence in the Indian pioneer by making Colonel Lane a Briga- 
dier General. General Lane was not only a brave man, but he 
was possessed of a knowledge of the Mexican style of fighting, 
and was an invaluable officer in that vigorous campaign, so suc- 
cessfully managed by Taylor, 

After the close of hostilities, he was appointed by the 
President Governor of the Territory of Oregon ; and upon the 
admission of Oregon into the Union, he was elected as Senator. 
General Lane was a delegate from Oregon to the Democratic 
Convention which nominated Franklin Pierce for President, in 
1852. In 1860, General Lane was nominated for Vice-Presi- 
dent on the Breckinridge Democratic ticket ; and his career in 
that memorable campaign is a part of the records of the coun- 
try. General Lane was married, while living in Vanderburgh 
County, to Miss Mary Hart, daughter of Matthew Hart. Ten 
children were the result of the union, of whom only one has 
died. Taking him as a representative pioneer, we have pre- 
sented this brief sketch of his life. His public services are a 
permanent part of our national history ; while his good quali- 



88 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ties of heart are impressed upon the memories of our best citi- 
zens. His vigorous constitution and active habits, will, we 
trust, spare his life for many years to come. 




Hon. John Law. 



HE name of John Law is inseparably associated with 
the history of Indiana, and more lately with the inter- 
ests of Evansville and this section. His professional, judicial, 
and political career have secured for him an eminent reputation 
and social regard. His life has been pure — never tarnished 
with spot or blemish. He was born on the 28th of October, 
1796, at New London, Connecticut. Mr. Law's grandfather was 
a member of the first Continental Congress, and was a man 
respected by all his constituents. The father of Judge Law was 
also a member of Congress ; and the name of Lyman Law was 
for many years associated with the leading cases of the Su- 
preme Court of the State. He looked carefully after the edu- 
cational interests of his son ; and as soon as John was prepared 
he entered the Worthington School, taught by the noted Jona- 
than Pomeroy, a wealthy gentleman and a graduate of Yale, 
who taught for the pleasure of teaching ; and having lew pupils, 
he spared no pains to give them a good training tor the college. 
John entered Yale in 1810, and graduated in 1814, at the boy- 
ish age of eighteen. The youthful student manifested uncom- 
mon powers of intellect, and an intense thirst for knowledge — 
especially in the field of classical literature, which he read with 
a scope of learning that surprised even the professors. After 
graduating, he commenced the study of law in his father's 
office, and was admitted to practice in 1817. With a reputation 
for being well read in the profession, he directed his steps West- 
ward ; and in the Fall of 1818 we find him opening an office in 
Vincennes, Indiana, and soon engaged in busy practice. The 
professional rise of Mr. Law was almost beyond precedent. The 
records of the courts and the reports of the State, both Federal 



Evansville and its Men of MarJc. 89 

and State, show that within the first year of his arrival he stood 
forward as among the most successful practitioners at the bar, 
— by his talent and industry alone, winning honors in the face 
of a violent opposition. As a criminal lawyer, he was recog- 
nized as among the ablest in the State. His learned, eloquent 
and masterly arguments gave to him, as an advocate, a name 
that was a household word in Indiana and Illinois. For sev- 
eral years he was prosecuting attorney in nearly all the courts 
of the old First Congressional District, and for several years he 
served as Judge of the Circuit Court. His judicial course was 
marked by his clear decisions, cogent reasoning, and systemat- 
ical summary of all the legal points in the case ; and while 
dignified on the bench, when in the social circle his gravity 
changed into mirth — his conversational powers making him the 
central figure of many an animated circle. During the admin- 
istration of President Pierce, he was Register in the Land 
Office ; and before that, was Receiver of the Public Money for 
several years. 

In 1851, Judge Law removed to Evansville ; and, as usual, 
success in numerous clients attended his labors. He, at this 
time, was engaged in several land-title controversies ; and in 
this department his industry and continued application gained 
for him much and lasting commendation. In 1861 he was 
selected by the Democratic party as Member of Congress from 
this district, and was re-elected in 1863. We have been told 
that " no man of the minority had more influence in shaping 
legislation than the Hon. John Law, of this district." His 
genial disposition and warm temperament surrounded him with 
many friends, among whom were the late Thaddeus Stevens 
and other noted statesmen. And while he shone in the social 
circle, he looked after the interests of his section, and thev 
never suffered for lack of care at his hands. 

A Democrat in politics, he never was a blind partisan ; his 
firmness and integrity placed his mind above mere party fidel- 
ity ; and he voted for any and all measures that, in his judg- 
ment, were necessary for the perpetuity of our free institutions. 
In his speeches on the merits of any bill, he evinced most fully 
his powers of mind and the purity and elevation of his princi- 
ples. All parties united in doing Judge Law honor, and their 
12 



90 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

personal regard was shown not only at Washington, but also 
when he returned to this city. A true Republican, Judge Law 
loves the Constitution and reveres the Union. A patriot, he 
never yet has ceased to toil for the public weal ; and in every 
position, however onerous, he has discharged his duties with 
the utmost fidelity. 



Captain P. G. 0' Riley. 




HIS energetic citizen was born in Dublin, Ireland, the 
17th of March, 1810. His education was principally 
in mercantile pursuits, and even before his emigration to Amer- 
ica, his reputation as a skillful clerk and energetic salesman 
was well established. In 1826 he arrived in New York, on his 
way to the West, engaging himself as a clerk in a commercial 
house at Cincinnati. Having a keen love for the river trade, 
he was soon employed as a clerk in the Cincinnati, Louisville 
and New Orleans line of steamboats. Especially with the Lou- 
isville and New Orleans packet line was he identified and with 
their business, through the various grades from clerk to captain. 
Any one who ever saw Captain O'Riley will remember the man 
who could command a boat, write letters, and carry on a con- 
versation at the same time. 

He was married at Troy, Indiana, on the 31st of July, 1832, 
to Miss Emerine Jennings, daughter of Judge Jennings, an old 
and distinguished citizen of Troy. In 1843 he came to Evans- 
ville, and was a commission merchant here for over twenty 
years. His wharf-boat was one of the institutions of Evans- 
ville : and especially was it the resort of all the river men, who 
could there gain information in regard to their families Capt. 
O'Riley's frank, open-hearted and cordial nature, so character- 
istic of his countrymen secured him a wide circle of friends, 
whose love and esteem increased with intimacy. His nature 
was as generous as it was noble, The widow and the orphan, 
the ailing and the destitute, were always sure of his aid and 
succor. His purse-strings were ever opened at the call of the 




COL. J. S. BUCHANAN. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 91 

poor, and no application for relief was ever made to him in 
vain. A member of the Masonic fraternity and a leading 
Knight-Templar, his brethren were proud of their worthy asso- 
ciate, who exemplified so fully the bond of friendship and sym- 
pathy. In 1863 he removed to New Orleans, and engaged in 
the commission business. The same characteristics which made 
him so popular in Evansville gave to him a leading position in 
the mercantile fraternity of that city. The Times of that city, 
in its issue of October 9th, 1867, says: " During the past four 
years he had made New Orleans his home ; and in this brief 
period centered around him many new friends in this commu- 
nity who appreciate his worth and deplore his loss. The 5th 
of October last he succumbed to the fatal fever which scourged 
our city ; and although his family had not the indefinable con- 
solation of being at his side at the moment, it may in some 
degree assuage their grief to know that he was tenderly and 
devotedly cared for by sincere friends, who faithfully watched 
by his couch of sickness and received his latest breath." His 
funeral was attended by a numerous concourse of friends, who 
deplored in his death the loss of a good citizen, an upright mer- 
chant, and a good father, husband and friend. In testimony of 
respect, the steam fleets at Evansville, Louisville and Cincin- 
nati, displayed their flags at half-mast the day the melancholy 
news reached those cities. Of the nine children born to 
them, those now living are Jennie, now Mrs. Dr. J. Mageniss ; 
Fannie, Mrs Kansom L. Akin ; John and Emma. The two lat- 
ter reside with their mother. 



Colonel J. S. Buchanan. 



HE Evansville bar has long enjoyed a high reputation 
and its members have largely influenced the course of 
not only the city, but State and national affairs. Among the 
able men who adorn the bar of this district we find Colonel 
Buchanan. He was born near Madison, Indiana, on the 4th 




92 JBvansville and its Men of Mark, 

of February, 1822. In 1824 his father, John Buchanan, who 
was a farmer, removed to Vevay, Switzerland County. Having 
a fondness for study, at the age of eighteen, the subject of our 
sketch commenced the reading of law books, in order to gain 
information. His efforts were so well directed that he deter- 
mined to adopt the legal profession as a livelihood. After read- 
ing nearly three years, on account of ill health, he was obliged 
to change his plans ; and till 1848, he worked on the farm with 
the resolution of returning to the profession when his health 
would permit. The death of his father, in 1847, was the source 
of painful trial and anxiety. Under the trying circumstances, 
he felt little desire to engage in the actual practice of the pro- 
fession, for which both study and thought had so eminently 
fitted him. In 1848 he was married to Miss Julia A. Sauvain, 
daughter of Melshau Sauvain, one of Napoleon I's body guard, 
and an old settler of the county. Farming and studying law 
continued till 1850, when he was admitted to practice. In 
a short time, owing to the advice of friends, he removed to 
Versailles, where his strict business habits and most indomita- 
ble persevernace brought him an extensive practice. Owing to 
the location of the Ohio and Mississippi Railroad six 
miles north of the place, and thinking it not destined to have 
much growth, he removed to Charleston ; and here fortune 
smiled upon him, and he was rapidly rising in the world, when 
the War of 1861 made a sudden change in his business rela- 
tions. He went back to Vevay and commenced recruiting ; and 
in a short time over two hundred men were in camp ; and these 
formed a part of the First Indiana Cavalry, in which he held a 
captain's commission. The battalion, consisting of six compa- 
nies, was ordered to "Washington, and were there re-organized 
and formed a part of the Third Indiana Cavalry, of which our 
subject was commissioned Lieutenant-Colonel. For several 
months the regiment did scouting service from Washington to 
Manassas and on to the Shenandoah River. In the early part 
of the Summer of 1862. the regiment was traversing 
the country between Washington and Fredericksburgb, 
and was in the vicinity of Washington directly after the 
the second battle of Bull Run. At the time of General Lee's 
raid into Maryland, his regiment participated in the battles of 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 93 

South Mountain and Antietam, and our subject will be remem- 
bered for a career so honorable to himself as well as his State. 
His judicious management, as well as his bravery on the field 
and considerate treatment of his men, made him a general fa- 
vorite; and his resignation, in the Winter of 1862-3, on account 
of ill health, was deeply regretted by his comrades. After a 
brief visit to Vevay, he went to Helena, Arkansas, and man- 
aged a large plantation for nearly three years. Owing to the 
predatory excursions of the guerrillas, his property was rapidly 
reduced, and in a short time Colonel Buchanan had lost nearly 
his entire estate. But undaunted by obstacles, in July, 1866, 
we find him hard at work at Evansville ; and his determination 
to succeed soon enabled him to recover his lost fortune. 

Possessing a ripe judgment, with a thorough knowledge of 
the principles which underlie all law, and oratorical powers of 
no common order, we do not wonder at his success. Colonel 
Buchanan, guided by his own early struggles for education, has 
shown his regard for culture by the liberality and pains which 
he so abundantly bestowed upon his children : Cicero, the 
elder, a graduate of Eureka College, Illinois, and now associ- 
ated with his father in the practice of the law ; Mary, the wife 
of Rev. G, E. Flower, of Paducah, Kentucky; and W. S., now 
attending the Commercial College. 

Colonel Buchanan is a man of amiable disposition and 
gentlemanly deportment ; and with his prepossessing manners, 
he never fails to command respect. His life affords an instruct- 
ive lesson to those laboring against adversity, and furnishes an 
example of what industry, punctuality, and determination can 
do to conquer all difficulties, and to secure the confidence and 
respect of the communities in which their lot may be cast. 




Hon. Alvah Johnson. 



? AS born near Boonville, Warrick County, Indiana, on 
the 15th of Noveuber, 1825. His father, K. K. 
Johnson, was originally from Delaware ; his family removed to 
Kentucky when he was a child, and he settled in Warrick 
County in 1816. Alvah assisted his father on the farm, attended 
school in the Winter ; and being of a studious disposition, he 
employed his leisure hours in studying the books that were out 
of the regular course at school. At the 1 age of nineteen, hav- 
ing received a fair English education, he entered the State Uni- 
versity, at Bloomington, and graduated in 1849. He then 
commenced the study of the law, and was admitted to practice 
in 1851. He began his profession at Boonville, and was elected 
County Recorder the first year of his stay in the place. 

On the 1st of June, 1852, he was married to Miss Jane 
Parrett, daughter of Rev. Robert Parrett, and sister of Hon. 
William F- Parrett, of this city. 

He held the office of Recorder four years ; and in 1859 
was elected County Treasurer, and in 1861 was re-elected to the 
same position. On the 4th of July, 1861, Mr. Johnson deliv- 
ered an address at Boonville, which was not only a masterly 
argument for the preservation of the Union, but greatly assisted 
in awakening the enthusiasm of the people of that section. His 
course at this time led to his nomination for Congress by the 
friends of the proscution of the war, and he was heartily 
indorsed by the Republican party. The opposition paid him 
the compliment of bringing out its strongest man — the Hon. 
John Law ; and thus furnished palpable evidence of his status 
with his political opponents. Mr. Johnson was defeated, as he 
expected to be, but by a majority much less than the average 
in the district. Judge Law was then in the zenith of a popu- 
larity unsurpassed by any of the prominent men in this part of 




HON. ALVAH JOHNSON. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 95 

the State ; and this fact iu connection with the new issues of 
Lincoln proclamation suddenly presented to the people, natu- 
rally affected the result, 

In the Winter of 1863 Mr. Johnson removed to Evansville 
and engaged in the practice of his profession. In 1864 he was 
appointed Provost Marshal of the first district, and was instru- 
mental in raising the One Hundred and Forty-third and One 
Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiments. After the close of the 
war he gave up bis practice, on account of ill health, and 
attended, mainly, to real-estate business. His health not im- 
proving, in 1869 he spent the Summer in Europe, visiting 
Great Britain and Central Europe. His letters to the Journal 
were favorably commented upon by the press as giving a true 
picture of European life, manners and customs; and his de- 
scriptions of cities, especially of Venice were written in a style 
well worthy of a high place in the standard specimens of for- 
eign correspondence. On his return, he gave his undivided 
attention to his real estate business ; and this, in connection 
with his duties as director of the First National Bank, occupied 
his time. 

The sketch of Mr. Johnson would not be complete without 
mentioning that he is a man of unblemished moral character ; 
and for over twenty years he has been a member of the Cum- 
berland Presbyterian Church, and a liberal benefactor to all 
the religious and philanthropic enterprises of the day. Both 
as a business man and citizen, Mr. Johnson carries with him 
the esteem of the community. Having begun life poor, he has 
raised himself to the position of a trusted financier and enter- 
prising capitalist. Surely, his life career has been a success. 



Henry D. Allis. 




ONWAY, Massachusetts, is the place where Henry D- 
Allis was born, on the 15th of May, 1813. Henry 
worked on his. father's tarm till his eighteenth year ; when, 
having a strong desire to see the world, he started out as a 



96 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

peddler of jewelry, Yankee notions, etc. — a merchant agreeing 
to supply him with stock and pay him two hundred dollars a 
year and expenses. He traveled over Western Massachusetts 
and Eastern New York, on foot; and being well acquainted 
with the wants of the people, he soon acquired some celebrity 
as a sharp and successful trader. In 1834 he made an exten- 
sive pedestrian tour, with his pack well filled, to "Wheeling, 
West Virginia. At Wheeling he thought of visiting Alabama, 
and proceeded down the river to Louisville, for that purpose ; 
but at the latter city he met some clock peddlers, who had just 
arrived from the South, and were bound for Evansville. He 
was induced to join them, and the party arrived in this city in 
April, 1835. For a short time he traveled over the country 
between Evansville and Vincennes ; but hearing of a store- 
house at Smith Mills, about twelve miles south of Henderson, 
he proceeded to that place and was there engaged in the dry 
goods and notion line for the following year. He then disposed 
of his stock and purchased a two-horse wagon, a pair of good 
horses, and for the next year he was again in the peddling bus- 
iness. His horses died, and he sold his stock to a man who 
never paid for it. He returned to Evansville with no cap- 
ital, but with a reputation for energy and honesty. He called 
on John Shanklin, who was a kind friend and benefactor of the 
young man, and gave him a letter of introduction to a Louis- 
ville grocery establishment. Mr. Allis purchased four hundred 
dollars' worth of goods on four months time, and opened his 
store on Main street, near the Court-house. At this location he 
remained six years; and as this was the only retail establish- 
ment here for some time, his trade soon assumed large propor- 
tions, for a town of that size. His next location was on Water 
street, where he transacted a similar business, and also did 
something in the wholesale line. After remaining here a short 
time he removed to the first block on First street, and was the 
next neighbor to Robert Barnes. In 3 849 he engaged in the 
wholesale grocery business, on the corner of Water and Vine 
streets. In 1856 he disposed of the same, and for the following 
two years he retired from active trade. In 1858 he opened a 
wholesale liquor establishment in the store-house previously oc- 
cupied by him ; from 1862 to 1864 was engaged in the manu- 




JOHN M. LOCKWOOD. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 97 

facture of tobacco with J. G. Sauer & Co ; from 1865 to 1869 
was busy in the rectifying of liquors, on the corner of Vine and 
Water streets ; in 1860 he settled in his present location, on First 
street, and has since maintained a position as among the lead- 
ing commission merchants of the city. 

Mr. Allis has had a busy life, and not only has he been 
diligent in his own affairs, but has also been active in matters 
of public interest. As Vice-President of the " Straight Line " 
Railway his name was prominently before the public for several 
years, and his efforts in aid of that project were such as to place 
his name among the able financiers of the city. Mr. Allis 
served one term in the City Council, and while in that body 
was well known as a prudent manager of the city's affairs. 

He was married at Evansville, in 1841, to Miss Ann Eliza 
Bingham, daughter of Gordon Bingham, a well-known resident 
of Baltimore, Md. In the social circle Mr. Allis is highly re- 
garded ; his acts of kindness and real welcome to friends giving 
an earnest of his genial and affectionate temperament. 




John M. Lockwood. 



R. LOCKWOOD is of English-Quaker descent. His 
i\y father, Isaac Lockwood, settled in Westchester Co., 
New York, about twelve miles north of White Plains, and for 
many years carried on his trade as a hatter. Our subject was 
born in Westchester County, on the 24th of April, 1809. At 
that time the opportunities for a country boy to obtain even the 
rudiments of an education, were extremely limited. When 
John was nine years of age his father started for Indiana, and 
arrived at Evansville in June, 1818. His father went North 
and entered one hundred and sixty acres of land in the vicinity 
of Princeton. Unfortunately for John, both his parents died 
before he had attained his twelfth year. His mother died in 
1819, and his father in 1820. Many and bitter were the 
13 



98 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

thoughts that arose in his mind, when he contemplated his des- 
olate condition. As if in answer to his earnest prayer, the 
attention of James Evans — a brother of General Evans — was 
called to John, and the lad proceeded to Mr. Evans' home ; and 
though the orphan was bound out, inasmuch as Mr. Evans was 
a kind and faithful master, the boy's lot was a happy one. Mr. 
Evans was a justice of the peace, a small farmer, and the owner 
of a set of carding-machines. John kept the accounts, and on 
arriving at his fifteenth year had full charge of the carding-ma- 
chines. As an incident worthy of remembrance, we would 
state that in 1829 Abraham Lincoln, the rough backwoods boy, 
came to Mr. Evans' with his sack of wool, which our hero carded 
for him. When John was twenty-one years of age, Mr. Evans 
gave him one hundred dollars, and a suit of clothes much better 
than his ordinary apparel. He now made a contract with Mr. 
Evans, by the terms of which he was to receive one-sixth of the 
money earned by the carding-machines ; and he worked early 
and late till Fall, and saved some money, by means of which 
he expected to get a start in life. In the Fall, in company with 
Dr. Neely, he purchased a flat-boat, loaded it with corn, and 
started for New Orleans, going down the Patoka, Wabash, Ohio 
and the Mississippi. However, they disposed of the corn at 
Bayou Sara, when Mr. Lockwood was attacked with the dreaded 
yellow fever. After two weeks' illness, he recovered sufficiently 
to return home, arriving at Princeton in July, 1831. In Sep- 
tember, 1831, he came to Evansville and opened a grocery store 
on the northeast corner of First and Main streets. His capital 
was only two hundred and fifty dollars, and most of this he had 
made with the carding-machines. He purchased eight hundred 
dollars' worth of groceries of the Lewis Brothers, and, as a 
merchant, experienced the troubles and cares of the credit sys- 
tem. He worked hard ; paid his accounts as they came due ; 
and gradually established a trade which placed his name among 
the successful business men. 

In 1834 he was married to Miss Caroline C. Newman, 
daughter of James Newman, formerly of Virginia, and who 
had settled in Evansville in 1819. 

In 1834, he disposed of his groceries, and opened with a 
stock of dry goods. He worked earnestly ; lived in the rooms 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 99 

above his store ; and succeeded, as usual, in making his new 
business successful in every respect. He retired from this bus- 
iness in 1836. In 1834, in company with Charles I. Battel, 
Horace Dunham, John Mitchel, James Lewis, and Robert Stock- 
well, of Princeton, Mr. Lockwood was largely instrumental in 
organizing the branch of the State Bank of Indiana. In 1834 
he was among the managers of the Canal Dinner, which attracted 
to Evansville nearly all the leading men of Southern Indiana, 
and which, with the prestige of the bank, gave Evansville some 
little note in this section of the State. Mr. Lockwood was a 
member of the Council in 1833-4. He worked, with all his 
heart, for the Evansville and Crawfordsville Railroad, and car- 
ried Prairie Township for the project. In 1836 he removed to 
a farm, about three and a half miles from the city. On account 
of his health, he could not reside in the town ; but, till 1853, a 
part of the time he lived in the country, and the remainder in 
Evansville. He desired to remain in Evansville ; but his health 
not permitting, in 1853 he removed to Mt. Vernon, which has 
since been his residence. At Mt. Vernon he aided in founding 
the Mount Vernon National Bank ; and, with the exception of 
two years, he has been its President. In addition to his duties 
as President of the Bank, he is interested in many private and 
public enterprises. 

Mr. Lockwood has amassed a large fortune ; but we can 
truly say that his charities have increased in the ratio of his 
wealth. His gifts to the Church, both at Evansville and Mount 
Vernon, are two well known to oe mentioned here. He has 
now a well-deserved name for character, and a nice sense of 
business honor. 

His career has been crowned with success, and his charac- 
ter as a man may well be referred to as a type of Christian 
virtues. 




Hon. Charles H. Buiterfield. 



; AYOR BUTTERFIELD is of the New England stock 
and many of the peculiar characteristics of tho Pil- 
grims are strongly marked in him. He was born in Farming- 
ton, Maine, on the 17th of May, 183-4. Until his seventeenth 
year, he remained at home, working on the old homestead ; 
assisting his father in the store, and attending school during the 
Winter sessions. In 1851 he entered Farmington Academy, 
finished the preparatory course for college in 1855. In the Fall 
of that year he commenced his career as an under-graduate at 
Bowdoin, and matriculated in 1859. His favorite studies were 
Latin and the Natural Sciences ; an i in these he particularly 
distinguished himseli. In August, 1859, he came to Evansville 
and became the Principal of the High School. His career as a 
teacher was characterized by wisdom and an active interest in 
everything that aided in the progress of the educational inter- 
ests of the city. In the Spring of 1862 he assisted in recruit- 
ing the Sixty -fifth Regiment, expecting to go with it to the 
front; but, from causes beyond his control, was prevented. 
However he raised the Ninety-first, was appointed its Major, 
and was afterwards promoted to a Lieutenant-Colonelcy. No 
efforts were spared by Colonel Butterfield to improve the regi- 
ment in drill and discipline ; and the history of the Ninety- 
first gives a vivid description of their valor on many a field of 
battle. After chasing the guerrillas in the vicinity of Hender- 
son for several months, they were engaged in the expedition 
after Morgan, in the Spring of 1863. The regiment was actively 
engaged in the Fall and Winter of 1863-4 in all the battles of 
the East Tennessee campaign. In the Spring of 1864 the 
Ninety-first formed a part of the Twenty-third army corps, of 
General Sherman's army, and made the noted march from 
Chattanooga to Atlanta. They were next ordered to Nashville 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 101 

and, as a portion of Thomas' army, took part in the fights that 
led to the overthrow of Hood's army. We soon find the Nine- 
ty-first at Washington, en route for North Carolina, and landing 
at Fort Fisher in time to join Sherman at Goldsboro. The fights 
with Johnson were among the most bloody of any in the war ; 
and the Ninety-first, till the final surrender of Johnson's army, 
maintained the honor of their State and aided materially in 
crushing this, the last hope of the Confederacy. Colonel But- 
terfield was in command of Salisbury the first day after the 
entry of the Federal army. 

The conflict being over, he returned to Evansville in July, 
1865, and was soon appointed Superintendent of Schools, which 
position he retained one year. Immediately upon arriving in 
the city he had commenced the study of law ; and while acting 
as Superintendent he also read law, as time would permit, in 
Hon. Conrad Baker's office. He was admitted to the bar in 
December, 1865, and was, after the expiration of his official ca- 
reer, engaged in the active duties of the legal profession. 

In 1869 he was elected Judge of the Criminal Circuit Court 
and resigned in 1871 to accept the Mayoralty, to which he was 
elected after the death of Hon. William Baker. As Mayor of 
the city, Colonel Butterfield has followed in the steps of his 
predecessor ; and the condition of the city's affairs to-day is a 
token of his efficient management. Mayor Butterfield is always 
at his post of duty ; and the city has few officials from whom 
more substantial benefits have accrued. 



Azro Dyer. 



^^IjON. DILLIS DYER was born in Vermont, and came 
^§S*!M> to Kentucky at the age of twenty-one. He in after 
years became a noted lawyer and distinguished politician. A 
warm personal friend of Henry Clay and an uncompromising 
Whig, he was several times elected a member of the Senate and 
House ot Representatives of the Kentucky Legislature. The 



102 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

name of Dyer, in connection with Calhoun, Pirtle and Crow, is 
intimately associated with the progress of jurisprudence in Ken- 
tucky, and the advancement of the principles so aptly promul- 
gated by the Whig party of the past. 

Azro was born in Muhlemburg County, Kentucky, on the 
12th of March, 1836. After a thorough preparatory course at 
Hartford Academy, under the charge of Prof. Frank Grifnin, 
he was admitted to the Freshmen Class of '56, of the Rochester 
University, New York.. He remained at Rochester till the 
Summer of 1854, when he wended his way to Hanover, New 
Hampshire, and was entered on the rolls of the Junior Class of 
Dartmouth College. Mr. Dyer was a fine linguist and excelled 
as an essayist. At the graduating exercises in 1856, he deliv- 
ered the farewell address to President Lord. This, as well as 
his literary productions in the regular course, gave him a pre- 
eminent position among the under-graduates of " Old Dart- 
mouth." In the Fall of 1856 he commenced the study of law 
in the office of Judge J. W. Bickers, of Rumsey, Muhlemburgh Co. 
After a year's experience in the office, he entered the Law De- 
partment of the Louisville University, and matriculated in the 
Spring of 1858. His first location was at Calhoun, McLean 
County, Kentucky ; and slowly his practice increased, and 
gradually his name was mentioned among the rising jurists of 
the State, when the Civil War caused a stoppage of his profes- 
sional career. 

In 1861 he was married to Miss Prudy L. Belt, daughter 
of Henry J. Belt, a leading merchant of Livermore, McLean 
County, Kentucky. 

In July, 1864, Mr. Dyer came to Evansville, and has fought 
his way, step by step, till he is recognized among the leading 
members of the bar of this circuit. It is difficult to name the 
department of the profession in which Mr. Dyer excels ; as he 
is well adapted for all. A good legal adviser, he is often re- 
tained upon some of the most noted cases in the courts ; while 
his sharp, pungent arguments have established his reputation 
as an advocate of ability and power. Well read in the profes- 
sional literature, he is also well versed in the ordinary affairs 
of life. One of the best scholars in the State, his arguments 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 103 

are dressed in 3uch language that they are comprehended even 
by the humblest hearer. 

A gentleman of the highest culture, Azro Dyer never fails 
to treat with cordiality and respect all persons, of whatever 
condition. 



Willis Howe. 



^-'^RsENTUCKY has sent many of her sons to people Indi- 
%%SgW diana, and that they performed a noble part in the 
history of the young State is fully shown by the records of the 
early pioneers. Willis Howe was born near Boone Lick, Boon 
County Kentucky, on the 9th of November, 1805, When fif- 
teen years of age, his family settled in Gibson County, Indiana, 
near the present site oi Patoka. In 1838 the villages of Pa- 
toka and Princeton were nearly equal in population, and there 
was considerable strife between them, as to which should be the 
county-seat. At the age of nineteen he was apprenticed to a 
blacksmith at Princeton, and served four years. With nothing 
but his energy for capital, he started a blacksmith shop ; and 
for over twenty-seven years he worked faithfully at his forge, 
and succeeded in amassing a considerable estate. He served 
as justice of the peace four years, and was County Treasurer 
from 1832 to 1838. 

In 1827 he was married to Miss Mary Minnis, daughter of 
Calvin Minnis, an old settler who bad come to Indiana in 1811. 

Of late his attention has been given to the care of a large 
farm, and the Gibson County National Bank, of which he has 
been, for some time, Vice-President. Though a resident of 
Princeton, Mr, Howe has labored for Evansville's railroad 
enterprises, and has aided energetically for the internal improve- 
ment of Southern Indiana. Though nearly seventy years of 
age, he is hard at work ; and one would judge from hia well- 
preserved physique that he is now in the prime of life. 




General James M. Shackelford. 



SOLDIER and a jurist our subject has been ; and in 
each capacity he has so truly played his part that 
each seemed, for the time being, his only proper sphere. There 
are few to whom the test can be satisfactorily applied. A good 
fortune was his inheritance ; while his lineage can be traced 
from one of the first families in the commonwealth of Kentucky 
— and we think an additional lustre is lent to our subject when 
we know that his ancestors were those whose deeds were worthy 
of emulation. 

He was born near Danville, Lincoln County, Kentucky, on 
the 7th of July, 1827. He pursued a thorough course of study 
at the Stanford High School, and a select school, which might 
well be termed a college, taught by the celebrated Dr. James 
P, Barbour, one of the first educators of the country. In 1847, 
at the time of the war with Mexico, his talents as an officer 
were so apparent that he was tendered a first lieutenant's com- 
mission in the Fourth Kentucky Infantry, commanded by Col. 
John S. Williams. This was a high and flattering compliment 
for so young a man ; but one that was fully deserved by its re- 
cipient. The regiment reached the city of Mexico in Decem- 
ber, 1847, following along in the wake of Scott's victories. 
Though the regiment was not engaged in any important battles, 
as a solder, Lieutenant Shackelford's name and reputation were 
firmly established. In July, 1848, after the cessation of hostil- 
ities the regiment returned to Kentucky. He now entered the 
office of Judge Cook, a highly-esteemed and well-known lawyer, 
of Madisonville, Hopkins County, Kentucky, and commenced 
the study of law, 

After three years of professional study, he was admitted to 
practice in 1851. He was well read in common law and in 
equity, and was familiar with their elementary principles and 




3LF0RD. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 105 

nicer distinctions — so much so, that Judge Cook invited him to 
a partnership. A few days after this association, a man by the 
name of Strange was arrested for murder ; Mr. S. was retained 
for the defence ; and as this was his dehut as an advocate, his 
friends were anxious as to the result — inasmuch as the evidence 
seemed to be against the criminal, and the prosecution was com- 
posed of the first legal talent of the State. His argument was 
so well prepared, and his case so ably managed, that in spite of 
the energetic appeals of the eloquent prosecutors who preceded 
him, his peculiarly nervous eloqueuce— his subtle and plausible 
defence — entitled him to a high rank among those attorneys, 
so noted for their eloquence and learning. Upon the conclu- 
sion of his argument, Judge Bradley came down from his seat, 
threw his cloak around the young man, and congratulated him 
upon his success. The bar followed, and assured the young 
lawyer that his success was evident from that time. The jury 
was divided — eight being for acquittal, and four for a short 
term in the penitentiary. At the next term of the court the 
prisoner was acquitted. An almost unprecedented course of 
success followed ; and our subject figured in almost all the 
litigation in Southwestern Kentucky ; and many of these trials 
were among the most noted of the State. 

In 1861, while the Civil War was in progress, Mr. Shack- 
elford having a strong love for a military life — eager to lend 
what aid he might to the cause of his country — and having re- 
ceived direct authority from President Lincoln, accompanied 
by a letter expressive of his own pleasure in doing him such an 
honor, commenced raising a regiment for the Union army. It 
was with difficulty that the regiment was recruited ; as most of 
the citizens were in sympathy with the Confederacy. The reg- 
iment was known as the Twenty-fifth Kentucky Infantry ; and 
in a short time, although not very full, it was tendered to Gen- 
eral Buell — Colonel Shackelford agreeing that, if Gen. Buell 
would muster in the men, he, as their Colonel, would serve 
without pay. The regiment was mustered in, with Colonel 
Shackelford in command, and at once was placed in Gen. Cruff's 
brigade, Calender's division. The division was advanced upon 
Fort Donelson, and participated in that noted engagement. 
Colonel S. carefully manoeuvred his men ; and amid the peril- 

14 



106 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ous excitement cheered on his command, and performed a gal- 
lant part in that famous seige. At Fort Donelson eighty-four 
men were killed and wounded ; and it is just, to say that the 
loss would have been much greater, had it not been for the care 
Colonel S. exhibited in not unnecessarily exposing his soldiers. 
The spirited manner in which Gen. Cruff handled his men was 
in strong contrast to the many disgraceful scenes on other fields, 
and their valor became proverbial throughout the land. From 
the effect of the exposure and the long marches. Col. Shackel- 
ford became seriously ill, and the surgeons advised him to re- 
sign his commission if be would save his life He received an 
honorable discharge and returned to his family. His resignation 
was accepted with regret by those who knew his worth as a 
man, and his value as a soldier. His health being improved, 
he went to Pittsburg Landing and witnessed that fight. Gen. 
Buell wrote a letter to Adjutant-General Fennel, of Kentucky, 
strongly recommending Colonel S. for a command; and at the 
same time the Secretary of War wrote a letter to Gen. Boyle, 
commanding the Department of Kentucky, to authorize Colonel 
S. to recruit a regiment of cavalry. Colonel S. raised, in two 
weeks after receiving orders, over sixteen hundred men, out of 
which he constrvcted the Eighth Kentucky Cavalry. The regi- 
ment was first stationed at Henderson, and before they were 
mustered in were engaged in a fight with the guerrillas. In 
the skirmish Colonel Shackelford was seriously wounded by a 
slug, which passed just below the arch of the foot. He was re- 
moved to a hotel at Henderson, and placed under the best med- 
ical care. His recovery seeming doubtful, he was taken to the 
Sherwood House, at Evansville, and placed under the charge 
of Drs. DeBruler and Walker. Before his foot was well, he 
returned to his command, and for some time was forced to ride 
in a carriage, His headquarters were first at Hopkinsville, and 
afterwards at Russellville and vicinity 

During the Fall of 1862 the guerrillas were committing 
depredations upon the citizens, and his command was often 
engaged with Wheeler's cavalry and Morgan's band. As Mor- 
gan seemed to have his own way, and was raiding, not only 
upon the soldiers but upon the property of the citizens, William 
Davenport, of Hopkinsville, an old friend of President Lincoln, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 107 

went to Washington and called at the White House After a 
little conversation in regard to recent events, Mr. D. suddenly 
accosted the President with the question — 

" Abe, do you wish to have Morgan captured ? " 

Mr. Lincoln replied. " It would be a great gratification to 
me, individually, to have Morgan in the hands of the soldiers," 
and also said : " William, what do you mean by your question ? " 
Mr. D. then remarked that if he would make a young friend of 
his a brigadier-general, he would guarantee the great guerrilla's 
capture ; and accordingly mentioned Colonel Shackelford as his 
man for the position. Colonel Shackelford was nominated by 
the President, and unanimously confirmed by the Senate. 

Gen. Shackelford was then placed in command of the First 
Brigade, Second Division, Twenty-third Army Corps, and com- 
menced the chase after Morgan on the 37th of June, 1863. 

We take pleasure in presenting, for the first time to the 
public, a copy of the official report of Gen. Shackelford, to Lieut. 
Colonel Drake, A. A. G. on the staff of General Burnside — 

Headquarters 1st Brigade, 2d Division, 23d Army Corps, 
Russellville, Ky., August 1st, 1SR3. 
To Lieut. -Col. George B. Drake, A. A. G.: 

Colonel — I have the honor to submit the following report 
of the pursuit and capture of General John H. Morgan and 
his command ; 

In pursuance with orders from Major-General Hartsuff, on 
the 27th of June, 1863, I moved my brigade, with the exception 
of the Sixty-fifth Indiana and the Second Battalion of the 
Third Kentucky Cavalry, from Russellville, Ky., to Glasgow, 
Ky. On the 3d of June we moved from Glasgow to Ray's 
Cross Roads. At 5 o'clock p. M., the 1st day of July, a dis- 
patch from General Hobson, then at Marrowbone, stated that 
three hundred of his cavalry had been driven in, and that the 
enemy was moving upon him. I put my brigade in motion, 
and marched to Marrowbone, a distance of twelve miles, by 10 
o'clock that evening General Hobson being the senior officer, 
I reported to him for orders. On the 2d day of July, I asked 
to be permitted to make a reconnoisance with my brigade, in 
the direction of Burksville. My requist was readily granted 
by General Hobson — he concurring with me in the opinion 
that the enemy had not concentrated his forces ; a part having 
crossed at Burksville, a part above, and a part at Turkey-neck 
Bend, below. The extreme advance waa given to Lieutenant- 
Colonel Holloway, with detachments of the Eighth and Third 



108 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Kentucky Cavalry ; Colonel B. H. Bristow, with the Eighth 
Kentucky Cavalry, followed ; and then the Twelfth Kentucky 
Infantry, Colonel Hoskins ; the Ninety-first Indiana Regiment, 
Lieutenant-Colonel Mehanuger ; the Twenty-second Indiana 
Battery, Captain Denning ; a section of Artillery, Captain 
Hammond ; and Company K, Sixty -fifth Indiana Regiment. 

We proceeded three miles with the infantry and artillery, 
when orders came from General Judah for me to halt my com- 
mand. I halted the infantry and artillery, and sent messengers 
forward to halt the cavalry. Within a few minutes I received 
orders to march my command back to Marrowbone. The in- 
fantry and artillery were marched back, and couriers sent for- 
ward for the cavalry to return ; but it having failed to receive 
the order to halt, had gone on beyond the Burksville and Co- 
lumbia road, on which the main force of the enemy had gone. 
The Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, Colonel Jacobs, was sent forward 
to guard the road, to prevent the enemy falling back and cut- 
ting off Colonel Bristow. Colonel Jacobs proceeded down the 
road until he came up with Colonel Bristow ; and they were 
making arrangements to cut off and capture a rebel regiment, 
when General Judah's orders to march back to Marrowbone 
reached them. The Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry was then at- 
tached to my brigade, and I was ordered to proceed to Columbia 
via Edmonton. I reached Columbia on Sabbath morning, the 
5th of July, and learned of the fight at that place between 
Captain Carter, of the First Kentucky Cavalry, with a detach- 
ment of his regiment, and the enemy — the death of that gallant 
officer ; and also of the gallant defence made by Colonel More 
and his little band of veterans at Green River Bridge. At Co- 
lumbia I learned that I would be reinforced with fifteen hund- 
cavalry at Campbellsville. We reached Campbellsville on 
Sabbath evening with the cavalry and Capt. Hammond's section of 
artillery. I there heard of the noble defence at Lebanon, by Col. 
Hanson and his regiment, and his surrender to the overwhelm- 
ing numbers of the enemy. General Hobson, then at Greens- 
burg, was dispatched to send forward his cavalry, or come 
forward with it. He reached Campbellsville at daylight on the 
morning of the tith, with the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, leaving 
his infantry and artillery behind. We pressed on to Lebanon, 
at which point we found Colonel Woolford with his brigade. 
My infantry and artillery were ordered from that point to re- 
port to General Judah, at Vaugan's Ferry, on Green River. 

I take pleasure in bearing testimony to the efficiency and 
great powers of endurance of the Twelfth Kentucky Regiment 
of infantry and the Ninety-first Indiana Regiment. In the 
march from Russellville to Marrowbone and back to Green River 
Bridge these regiments kept pace with the cavalry and artillery. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 109 

Colonel Hoskins, of the Twelfth Kentucky, Lieutenant-Colonel 
Mehannger, of the Ninety-first, deserve the thanks and grati- 
tude of the country for their promptness and efficiency in the 
management of their regiments. Captain Denning, of the 
the Twenty-second Indiana Battery, was in command of all my 
artillery, and I feel no hesitancy in pronouncing him one of the 
best and most efficient officers in the army. 

At Lebanon General Hobson turned his brigade over to 
me, and assumed command of all the forces. We marched from 
Lebanon to Springfield ; thence to Bardstown and Brandens- 
burg. Whan we came within two miles of Brandensburgh we 
discovered the smoke rising from the burning transports, that 
had set the enemy across the river, and heard his shouts of tri- 
umph. We were twenty-four hours in obtaining transports and 
crossing the river. When once across the river, the pursuit 
was resumed. We pursued him through the State of Indiana 
to Harrison, Ohio. At Corydon and other points the enemy was 
met by the militia. The kindness, hospitality and patriotism of 
that noble State, as exhibited on the passage of the Federal 
forces, was sufficient to convince the most consummate traitor 
of the impossibility of severing this great Union. Ohio seemed 
to vie with her sister, Indiana, in facilitating our pursuit after 
the great rebel raider. In each of these two great States our 
troops were fed and furnished with water from the hands of 
men, women and children. From the palace and hut, alike, we 
shared their hospitality. He, who witnessed the great exhibi- 
tion of patriotism and love of country in those mighty States, 
on the passage of the Union army, and then could doubt the 
ability and purpose of the people to maintain the Government, 
has certainly been " given over t.o hardness of heart, that he 
may oelieve a lie. and be damned." 

We continued our pursuit of the enemy, day and night, 
until Saturday night, the 18th of July; when, by traveling all 
night, we reached Chester at daylight on the morning of the 
19th. Colonel Kautz, with his brigade, had the advance ; Colo- 
nel Sanders' brigade followed; then my own, and Colonel Wool- 
ford in the rear. After proceeding two miles, on Sabbath 
morning, the 19th, in the direction of Buffington Island, we 
heard the report of artillery on the river. Officers and men — 
notwithstanding the immense fatigue they had undergone — 
seemed to be inspired with a new life and energy, and there 
was a general rush forward. After proceeding two miles further 
I met two couriers with orders ; The first was that I should 
" take the first road leading up the river and cut off the ene- 
my's retreat " ; the second, that I should " press forward, and 
let Colonel Woolford, with his brigade, take the road leading 
up the river." I had gone but a short distance, when I received 



110 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

a written order to reverse my column, and, with Colonel Wool- 
ford's brigade and my own, take the first road I could find in 
the direction of the river, in order to prevent the enemy's es- 
cape up the river. The column was at once reversed and moved 
back by the left flank. Upon reaching the road I found the 
head of Colonel Woolford's column proceeding down the road. 
He was shown the order, and at once reported to me for orders. 
He was ordered to proceed with his brigade. He had not pro- 
ceeded more than one hundred yards, when a courier came irom 
my rear and announced that the enemy had attacked it Colo- 
nel Woolford was ordered to halt his column ; leave the Second 
Tennessee Mounted Infantry to hold the road, and follow im- 
mediately with the Tenth Kentucky Cavalry and Forty-fifth 
Ohio Mounted Infantry. I at once reversed my column, and 
on arriving at the point — near Bachin Church — I found the 
enemy in force. He occupied a dense wood, an old field, and 
the mouth of a lane through which the road ran. Our lines 
were formed promptly — the Nioth Kentucky Cavalry, Colonel 
Jacobs, on the extreme right; the Twelfth Kentucky Cavalry, 
Colonel Crittenden, on the extreme left ; the First, Third, and 
Eighth Cavalry in the center ; the Forty-fifth Ohio held as a 
reserve. After fighting about an hour, the First; Third and 
Eighth Kentucky Cavalry were ordered to charge the enemy. 
With drawn sabres gleaming in the bright sunlight ; and a yell 
that filled the foe with terror, they rushed upon him, and he 
fled at their approach. The charge was led by Lieutenant-Colo- 
nel Holloway, with the Eighth Kentucky, followed by Major 
Wolfley, of the Third Kentucky, with his battalion, and Lieu- 
tenant-Colonel Adams, of the First Kentucky, with his regiment 
— Colonel Bristow, of the Eighth Kentucky, having been sent 
back from Ballavia under orders upon indispensible business. 

I do but simple justice to these brave and gallant officers, 
and the veteran soldiery that followed them in that charge, 
when I say that not in this or any other war have officers and 
men acquitted themselves with more credit, or manifested more 
determination and valor. The charge caused the enemy to flee 
in wild consternation ; and immediately a flag of truce came 
from Colonel Dick Morgan, which was met by the officers of the 
Eighth and Third Kentucky Cavalry, proposing to surrender. 
They were apprised that no terms but an immediate and uncon- 
ditional surrender would be considered; and Colonels Morgan, 
Ward, Smith, and their commands ; marched within our lines. 

The casualties were inconsiderable on either side — the en- 
emy losing nearly all the killed and wounded. The number 
of prisoner captured by my command on that day amounted to 
about seven hundred, including their horses, arms, etc. 



Evans ville and its Men of Mark,. Ill 

Colonel Holloway was ordered, with his regiment and the 
battalion of the Third Kentucky, to take the prisoners, horses, 
arms, etc., to the river. The command was then moved a dis- 
tance of fifteen miles, to Tupper's Plains, up the rivor. On 
reaching the Plains, the enemy was reported posted in a dense 
woods at the head of a deep ravine, between the forces of Gen- 
erals Judah and Hobson and my own. The First Kentucky 
Cavalry, Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, and a part of the Twelfth 
Kentucky, under Captain Harris, had been ordered to pursue 
detachments of the enemy. Colonel Adams captured eighty, 
and Captain Harris over one hundred. We had but about six 
hundred men up, with four pieces of artillery. In company 
with Colonel Woolford, my Adjutant-General, Captan Hoffman, 
with two other officers and a citizen, we made a reconnoisance 
to within a few hundred yards of the enemy. We found that 
an attack from our side with artillery or cavalry was totally 
impracticable, and that it would be with great difficulty that he 
could be reached by the men on foot ; but that Generals Judah 
and Hobson could move up the river upon him. We occupied 
the only road upon which he could retreat, unless he went di- 
rectly to the river, which was strongly guarded. I communi- 
cated these facts to General Hobson, but it was late in the 
evening, and I am satisfied that he did not get them in time to 
make the move. He ordered Colonel Kautz to report to me 
that night with his brigade. During the night the enemy passed 
out by a path, and in the morning he was reported four miles 
in my advance. We at once gave him chase, and ran him fifty- 
seven miles. The Forty-fifth Ohio, Lieutenant-Colonel Ross, 
having the advance, skirmished with him six or seven miles and 
brought him to a stand at 3 o'clock p. m., on the 20th, at Kei- 
ger's Creek. A fight ensued which lasted one hour. Colonel 
Adams, with the First Kentucky, and Captain Ward, with a 
company of the Third Kentucky, were ordered to make a flank 
movement and take possession of the only road on which the 
enemy could retreat. This movement was accomplished with 
great rapidity and effectiveness — they having taken possession 
of the road after a severe skirmish. The enemy, finding his 
way of retreat cut off, and being hotly pressed from the frout, 
fled to an immense bluff for refuge. A flag of truce was sent 
up, demanding an immediate and unconditional surrender of 
Morgan and his command. The flag was met by Lieutenant- 
Colonel Coleman and other rebel officers, with another flag. 
They came down and desired a personal interview with me. 
They asked for one hour for consultation among their officers. 
I granted forty minutes, within which time the whole command 
— excepting General Morgan, with a detachment of about six 
hundred officers and men, who deserted the command — surren- 



112 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

dered. It was my understanding — and, as I learned, the under- 
standing of many of the rebel officers and men — that Morgan 
himself had surrendered. The number of prisoners captured 
by my command on that day was between twelve and thirteen 
hundred, with their horses arms, etc. 

On the morning of the 21st I called for one thousand vol- 
unteers, with the best horses, who would stay in their saddles 
as long as I wanted, without eating or sleeping, until we cap- 
tured Morgan. The entire command would have volunteered, 
but for the want of horses. We could find but about five hun- 
dred horses in the command fit for service. Colonel Capron, 
Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry, who had reported to me with his 
regiment on the night of the 20th, volunteered with one hun- 
dred and fifty-seven of his regiment ; Colonel Woolford, with a 
detachments from the First Kentucky, Second East Tennessee, 
Forty-fifth and Second Ohio ; we also had small detachments 
from the other regiments in the command. Colonel Jacobs was 
left in command of the forces and prisoners. With five hun- 
dred men, on the morning of the 21st, we resumed the chase. 
Traveling day and night, we came up with the enemy on Fri- 
day morning, the 24th, at Washington. Captain Ward, of the 
Third Kentucky Cavalry, with his own company and a detach- 
ment of the First Kentucky under Adjutant Carpenter, had 
command of the advance. He drove in the rebel pickets, and, 
by a flank movement, drove the entire rebel force out of the 
town of Washington, killing ten and wounding several of the 
enemy. One mile east of Washington the enemy made a stand 
in a dense wood. We formed a line of battle and soon drove him 
from his position. He fell back two miles ; tore up a bridge 
over a rugged stream, and took position in the woods on a high 
hill just beyond the bridge. The advance moved upon his left 
flank ; while a portion of the Fourteenth Illinois crossed the 
stream just above the bridge, moved up the hill in the face of a 
a heavy fire from the enemy. Steadily they moved up and 
drove him before them. Late Friday evening he burned two 
bridges over " Still Water," causing considerable delay. We 
succeeded in crossing, and pressed on all night. At daylight 
on Saturday morning, the 25th, we came up with the enemy one 
mile from Athens, marching on a parallel road one-quarter of 
a mile from ours. One-half a mile in advance the roads formed 
a junction, We pressed forward to it in time to see the enemy 
reversing his column and fleeing to the woods. We shelled him 
thirty minutes. Major Way, of the Ninth Michigan Cavalry, 
with detachments of the Eighth Michigan Cavalry and his own 
regiment, and Major Rue, of the Ninth Kentucky Cavalry, with 
detachments of the Eleventh Kentucky Cavalry, the Ninth 
Kentucky Cavalry, and other regiments, with fresh horses, had 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 113 

been sent forward by Major-General Burnside. After dispatch- 
ing these troops, be issued an order placing me in command of 
all the forces in pursuit of Morgan. 

On Saturday, tbe 25th, Major Way had heavy skirmishing 
with the enemy, driving them before him. At dark, on the 
25th, the main column reached Richmond. Major Way was 
two and one-half miles in my advance, in the direction of 
Springfield. At 10 o'clock that night I received a note from 
him stating that the enemy was moving from Springfield to 
Hammondsville, and that I could save five miles by marching 
directly from Richmond to that place, and that he would follow 
the enemy up. The column was at once put in motion on the 
Hammondsville road. About midway between Richmond and 
Hammondsville. at 12 o'clock on the night of the 25th, I met 
Major Rue, feeding ; he was traveling in the direction of Rich- 
mond. He at oftce reported to me for orders — remarking that 
he had about three hundred and seventy-five Iresh men and 
horses, and three pieces of artillery ; that he hoped I Would 
give him the advance. I ordered him to finish feeding, reverse 
his column and follow up immediately ; that I would give him 
an opportunity. We reached Hammondsville at daylight on 
Sabbath morning, the 26th ; we could hear nothing of the en- 
emy. I sent out scouts on every road, but without awaiting 
their return, I ordered Major Rue, who had come up, to take 
the advance with the detachment and also part of the Third 
Kentucky and First Kentucky, under Captain Ward and Adju- 
tant Carpenter. We proceeded five miles in the direction of 
Salineville, when a courier rushed up from Hammondsville, 
stating that the enemy was moving on that place. I ordered 
Major Rue to send a company ot his command, on the best 
horses, back to ascertain the trath of the report. Within a few 
minutes an officer came up and announced the enemy at Saline- 
ville ; we pressed on for that point. Before reaching there I 
learned of the fight between Major Way and the enemy, result- 
ing in the capture of two hundred and thirty, odd, of the en- 
emy. My advance, under Major Rue and Captain Ward, went 
into Salineville. Learning that Morgan with about four hun- 
dred men had crossed the railroad and was going in the direc- 
tion of Smith's Ford. I ordered Major Rue to return with the 
advance to the head of the column, then on the New Lisbon 
road. We had gone about seven miles, when a courier from 
Major Rue announced that Morgan had run into the New Lis- 
bon road ahead of him. Within a few minutes a second courier 
came from Major R., stating that he had come up with the 
enemy and wished me to send forward reinforcements immedi- 
ately. The whole column was thrown forward at the utmost 
speed of the horses ; we came to where the roads forked ; the 

15 



114 Evanaville and its Men of Mark. 

enemy had gone to the left, between the two roads. My advance 
had taken the right-hand road. I moved the column on the 
road the enemy had gone. On our approach, several of the 
enemy started to run ; they were ordered to halt, and on refus- 
ing to do so, were fired upon. Just at this moment a flag came 
from the enemy — the bearer stating that General Morgan 
wished a personal interview with me. I caused the firing to 
cease, and moved around to where Morgan and his staff were 
standing in the road. Morgan claimed that he had surrendered 
to a militia captain. (Major Rue had, very properly, refused 
to take any action in the premises until I came up.) I ordered 
Morgan and staff to ride forward with Colonel Woolford and 
myself; and ordered Major Rue to take charge of the balance 
of the prisoners, Morgan stated to me, in the presence of Col. 
Woolford and other officers, that he had become thoroughly sat- 
isfied that escape from me was impossible ; frhat he himself 
might have escaped by deserting his men, but he would not do 
so. He also stated, in the same conversation, that he did not 
care for the militia — that he could, with the command he then 
had, whip all the militia in Ohio ; yet, said he, " that since 
crossing the Ohio, he had found every man, woman, and child 
his enemy ; that every hill-top was a telegraph, and every bush 
an ambush." 

After traveling back two miles we halted, to have the pris- 
oners dismounted and disarmed. General Morgan then desired 
a private interview ; he called three or four of his staff 
and Colonel Cluke ; I asked Colonel Woolford to attend the 
interview. He claimed that he had surrenedered to a militia 
captain, and that the captain had agreed to parole him, his offi- 
cers and men. I stated to him that we had followed him thirty 
days and nights ; that we had met and defeated him a number 
of times; we had captured neaily all of his command; that 
he had acknowledged, in the presence of Colonel Woolford, that 
he knew I would capture him ; that he himself might have es- 
caped by deserting his men, but that he would not do so ; that 
we were on the field, that Major Rue had gone to his right and 
Captain Ward to his left, and the main column was moving rap- 
idly upon his rear ; that he had acknowledged that the militia 
captain was no impediment in his way — showing, by his own 
statement, that he could, with the force he then had, whip all 
the militia in Ohio — that I regarded his surrender to the militia 
captain, under such circumstances, as not only absurd and 
ridiculous, but unfair and illegal, and that I would not recog- 
nize it at all. He then demanded to be placed back upon the 
field as I found him. I stated to him that his demand would 
not be considered for a moment ; that he, together with his 
officers and men, would be delivered to Major-General Burnside 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 115 

at Cincinnati, Ohio ; and that he would take such action in the 
premises as he might think proper. The number of prisoners 
captured with Morgan was about three, hundred and fifty. 

Colonel W. C. Lanet, of the Eighty-sixth 0. V. I., reported 
to me near the Muskingum River, with his regiment ; Colonel 
Wallace, with some militia, a small detachment of the Third 
Ohio Cavalry, and three pieces of artillery, reported to me at 
Washington. Colonel Wallace was sent to the river to prevent 
Morgan crossing ; Colonel Lanet continued in the pursuit up to 
the capture. 

It is difficult for me to speak of individual officers and men 
without doing injustice to others. I unhesitatingly bear testi- 
mony to the uniformly good conduct and gallant bearing of the 
whole command ; yet I cannot forbear mentioning the names of 
some of the officers : The noble, true, and gallant Woolford, 
who was in the entire pursuit, is one of the coolest, bravest ani 
most efficient officers in the army, and has fairly won, by his 
untiring energy and gallantry on the field, promotion at the 
hands of his Government ; Colonel Kautz, who commanded the 
Seventh and Second Ohio ; Colonel Jacobs, of the Ninth Ken- 
tucky ; Colonel Crittenden and Major Delfree, of the Twelfth 
Kentucky ; Colonel Bnstow, Lieutenant-Colonel Holloway and 
Major Starling, of the Eighth Kentucky; Major Wolfley, of 
the Third Kentucky ; Lieutenant-Colonel Adams, of the First 
Kentucky ; Lieutenant-Colonel Meltous, of the Second East 
Tenneseee; Colonel Capron, of the Fourteenth Illinois Cavalry; 
Lieutenant-Colonel Ross, Forty-fifth Ohio Mounted Infantry ; 
Captain Powers and Lieutenant Longfellow, of the Fifth Indi- 
ana Cavalry ; Captain Dodd, Fifteenth Regiment of Infantry, 
commanding Company Third Ohio Cavalry ; Captain Kinney, 
of the Third Ohio; Captain Ward, of the Third, and Adjutant 
Carpenter, of the First Kentucky Cavalry, deserve the grati- 
tude of the whole country, for their energy and gallantry. To 
my personal staff: Captain J. E. Huffman, A. A. Gr.; Captain 
J. H. Morton, A. Q. M.; D. Mullins, Brig. Surg.; Lieutenant 
Vuilotte, Ordnance Officer ; Lieutenant Levy, A. D. C; Capt. 
Fred Pentecost, Volunteer A. D. C; and my faithful orderlies : 
W, H. McDaniel, Thos. Blakey and Jas. Richardson, of the 
Eighth Kentucky Cavalry, I tender my deep-felt gratitude for 
their fidelity, indomitable energy and valor. 

Our pursuit was much retarded by the enemy burning all 
the bridges in our front.- He had every advantage ; his system 
of horse-stealing was perfect, he would dispatch men from 
the head of each regiment, on each side of the road, to go five 
miles into the country, seizing every horse and then falling in 
at the rear of his column. In this way he swept the country, 
for ten miles, of all the horses. His depredations on the prop- 



116 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

erty of the citizens, his recklessness of the rights and lives of 
the people, while traversing these two States, is without paral- 
lel in the war. In order to the capture of Morgan, it was indis- 
pensable that my command should have horses. We had orders 
to press the horses, giving receipts for them, to be settled by 
the Government ; yet, in many instances, horses were taken 
when it was impossible to give receipts for them, or leave with 
the owners any evidence of indebtedness on the part of the Gov- 
ernment- In many other instances, soldiers, not authorized to 
take horses, whose horses had given out, yet anxious to continue 
the pursuit, took horses. In this way — unless commissions 
should be appointed to adjust these claims, great injustice will 
have been done to a great number of citizens. 
I am, Colonel, very respectfully, 

Your obedient servant, 

J. M. Shackelford, 

Brig. Gen I comd'g. 

After the capture, Morgan told General S. that he wished 
to present him with the fine mare that he was riding and the 
Mexican saddle and bridle. General S. informed him that he 
could not accept them ; but would present his request to Gene- 
ral Burnside, and he could do as he saw proper. 

Soon after the capture of the guerrillas, General Burnside 
removed his headquarters from Cincinnati to Camp Nelson, 
Kentucky ; and a man came in with a witness who swore that 
the saddle and bridle were stolen from him by Morgan's men. 
General Burnside delivered them up, The story was false ; as 
General Gordon brought them from Mexico and gave them to 
General Morgan — as was ascertained after they were gone. 
General B. issued an order and presented the mare to Gen. S. 

General Shackelford soon started on the East Tennessee 
campaign ; crossed the mountains, and was sent to Loudon 
after Buckuer, who crossed the bridge over the Tennessee and 
burned it after his passage. From Loudon he proceeded to 
Knoxville, and was then ordered to take Cumberland Gap. 
After leaving Knoxville, General Burnside ordered General 
Shackelford to take command of the division composed of three 
brigades of cavalry. General Frazier, the Confederate com- 
mander had more men in the forts at the Gap than General 
Shackelford had to oppose him. However, General Shackelford 
proceeded to the mountains, and sent up a flag demanding the 



JSvansville and its Men of Mark. 117 

surrender of Frazier. He refused ; and that night General S. 
burned the mill in the Gap and all the means Frazier had for 
sustenance. On the next day, General Burnside reached the 
Gap with a brigade of infantry, and General F. surrendered, 
with four thousand men, a large amonnt of stores, and over 
forty pieces of artillery. 

For three months, General Shackelford was fighting up and 
down the Virginia and Tennessee valleys. General Burnside 
formed a cavalry army corps, composed of sixteen regiments, 
and numbering over fifteen thousand soldieis, and placed Gen- 
eral Shackelford in' command. When General Burnside was 
ordered to go to the rescue of Rosecrantz, he ordered General 
Shackelford to cover his movement by marching up the Virginia 
valley and passing through Bristol. General S. fought at Blue 
Springs a large body of the enemy. The Confederates were 
strongly fortified at Cartersville, and General S. flanked them ; 
moving as if he was going to Bristol. General Shackelford 
met them, fought and drove them in a perfect stampede up the 
valley toward the Salt Works. General Burnside having ordered 
General Shackelford to burn the bridges and tear up the rail- 
road, he captured Bristol, with a large amount of sugar, tobacco ; 
burned five bridges, and tore up five or six miles of railroad. 
General Burnside did not go any farther than Knoxville ; and 
as Longstreet's and Wheeler's cavalry were moving on Knox- 
ville, General Shackelford was placed on the south side of the 
Tennessee River, to oppose Wheeler. General Shackelford met 
him fifteen miles out, at Marysville, and fought him from there 
to the fortifications. Burnside met Longstreet at Loudon ; 
Longstreet was driving Burnside, while Wheeler was driving 
General Shackelford back. The siege then commenced ; and 
after two days, General Shackelford was placed in command of 
all the forces on the south side of the river When the siege 
was raised, General Burnside gave General Shackelford a leave 
of absence, to be taken at any time that he saw proper. Not- 
withstanding his leave of absence, General Shackelford, with 
his cavalry, followed Longstreet and drove his cavalry out of 
Bean Station and fixed his headquarters there. Longstreet 
was encamped six miles from them with his whole besieging 
army. General Shackelford was nine miles in advance of all 
the infantry. 



118 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

In the latter part of 1863, Longstreet moved his army- 
down on General Shackelford, at Bean Station. The fight com- 
menced at 3 o'clock in the afternoon and lasted until the night. 
After night, he was ordered back two and one-half miles, and 
the infantry advanced Longstreet lost seven hundred men. 
Next day, skirmishing continued ; but this was the last of the 
battles in that campaign. 

After that, he came to Kentucky on his leave of absence. 
Having lost his wife, and having four little children and an aged 
mother, as well as a mother-in-law, to look after, General S. 
resigned. Mr. Lincoln offered him a Major-General's commis- 
sion if he would remain in the army. 

General Shackelford proved a true soldier under all circum- 
stances. Brave, to the verge of rashness ; unconscious of fear, 
and at all times capable of making the best disposition of his 
men ; a good disciplinarian, yet much beloved by his men ; 
strictly conscientious, he has manifested rare ability in the midst 
of great trials. He never failed to do what he could for the 
helpless, and to protect their rights, as far as his authority 
extended. 

In speaking of General Shackelford's career as a lawyer in 
Evansville, a brother attorney says : " His forte consists not so 
much in the preparation of his cases for trial — though in this he 
is quite accurate ■ — as in the peculiar adroitness with which he 
manages his causes in court. His mode of conducting the ex- 
amination of a witness is conciliatory, and well calculated to 
disarm prejudice ; leading slowly but surely to some point which 
he desires to make. On the contrary he is exceedingly laconic 
with an adverse witness ; rarely if ever putting a cross-inter- 
rogatory, unless it is a dishonest witness, whom he sometimes 
castigates most unmercifully. His style of speaking is easy 
and fluent ; sometimes vehement and declamatory, but never 
harsh. His voice is full, well modulated, and with a great flow 
of words. He is never at a loss for a word, and his style of 
handling the subject is much after the manner of developing 
the evidence in the case : first presenting the weaker points and 
gradually approaching the climax ■ — reserving the most impor- 
tant testimony for the last ; and there rests his case." 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 119 

General Shackelford's legal career has not reached its 
height ; and the eminence which he may attain in the future 
may be imagined from his brilliant course in the past. The 
brave soldier and eminent lawyer may be seen every Sunday at 
his post of duty, as teacher of the Bible class in the Cumber- 
land Presbyterian Sunday School ; and in this, as in other 
affairs, he holds a prominent position among the ablest biblical 
teachers in the land. 



J. J. Kleiner, 




Principal of the Evansville Commercial College. 



HE business education of the youth of our land has for 
some time attracted the attention of parents. For 
several years the Commercial College of the city has sent forth, 
annually, from its halls several hundred young men, prepared 
for the busy walks of commercial life. As the head of this 
prominent educational feature of our city, Mr. Kleiner has 
become noted, not only as a successful teacher, but also as a 
leading citizen of the Crescent City. 

He was born in Hanover, Pennsylvania, in 1845. When 
our subject was only three years of age, his parents removed to 
Medina County, Ohio, and located within thirty miles of Cleve- 
land. He prepared for college at the Eclectic Institute, Hiram, 
Ohio, and was under the charge of Professor Piatt R. Spencer, 
the celebrated teacher of penmanship, for nearly two years. He 
left the Institute and enlisted in the Second Ohio Cavalry, as a 
private, for three months, and re-enlisted in the Eighty-sixth 
Ohio Infantry, and served till the Summer of 1864 ; when, on 
account of the expiration of his term of service he was dis- 
charged. He entered Dennison University in 18G4, and 
remained there three years. In 1867 he came to Indianapolis 
and studied book-keeping at Gregory's Commercial College. 

In the Fall of 1867 he became connected with the 



120 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

business management of the Evansville Commercial College ; 
of which, since, since that date, he has become the sole propri- 
etor. The College has prospered from its commencement; and 
on its catalogue are found, annually, the names of nearly five 
hundred students. The system as taught by Professor Kleiner 
is that adopted by the leading Business Colleges of the country ; 
and the citizens can justly be proud of an institution which 
attracts to our city so many of the young men — and ladies, also 
— of this and the neighboring States. The people last Spring 
expressed their confidence in his integrity by electing him a 
member of the City Council from the Sixth Ward. 



Hon. H. 0. Gooding. 




;i ON. H. C. GOODING was born at Greenfield, Indi- 
ana, on the 14th day of June, 1838. His father, Asa 
Gooding, and his mother, Matilda, were both from Kentucky. 
His grandfather was also a Kentuckian, and took a prominent 
part in the early Indian wars of the country. He commanded 
a Kentucky regiment at the hard- fought battle of the Thames. 
His regiment always claimed for him the honor of killing the 
celebrated Tecumseh. Certain it was that he he took the scalp 
of an Indian warrior -chief, which, if not the identical scalp of 
Tecumseh, closely resembled it. The father of the subject of 
this sketch was a merchant at Greenfield, and one of the early 
pioneers of that now beautiful and thriving town. He died in 
1842, leaving his widow, Matilda Gooding, with but little prop- 
erty and a large family of children, eight in number, to support. 
By dint of wonderful industry, management and economy, she 
succeeded in raising and educating all of her children ; and now 
lives to see them comfortable and thriving in the world. One 
of her sons is the Hon. David S Gooding, for a long time Judge 
and State Senator, and Elector for the State at Large in 1804, 
upon the Union Ticket. Another of her sons is General 0. P. 
Gooding, a graduate of West Point, and a gallant officer in the 
late war — serving, with particular prominence, at the siege ot 
Port Hudson and on the Red River campaign. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 121 

Mr. H. Clay Gooding, after leaving the schools of his na- 
tive town, attended Asbury University, at Greencastle, Indiana, 
where he graduated in 1859. While in college he bore a con- 
spicuous part in the literary society to which he belonged, and 
was often chosen to represent it in public contest debate. Like 
most of the students of the institutions of that day, he was 
compelled at times to " lay out of college " and teach school to 
earn money necessary to defray his e>.penses. After graduat- 
ing, he immediately started South to try his fortune among 
strangers. He was, in fact, a " carpet-bagger " before that 
phrase was coined — all his worldly goods he carried in one car- 
pet-bag. After tarrying for a short time near Winchester, Ten- 
nessee, he proceeded westward, along the line of the Memphis 
and Charleston Railroad, in search of a school. At length 
after many vain efforts to get employment, and after almost the 
last dollar was spent and hope was flagging, he found an empty 
school-house at Macon, Tennessee. Here he was told by the 
citizens that he might take possession, and try what he could 
do as a teacher , that several larger and older men than him- 
self had tried the experiment, but had been driven out by the 
enemies, and, in some cases, the violence of the older scholars. 
Pocket-pistols and revolvers were as common as pen-holders, 
and the life of a Yankee, at that time, was not held particularly 
sacred among the rough classes. He succeeded, however, in 
teaching out the term, and retired from the place, taking with 
him three hundred dollars in gold, congratulating himself on 
his pecuniary success and his personal safety. During his stay 
as a teacher at Macon, the famous raid of John Brown was 
made in Virginia ; and all Northerners, especially teachers* 
were " suspicioned " and watched throughout the South. 

From Macon he proceeded to Vicksburg, Mississippi, where 
he remained some time with his uncle, Harper S. Hunt, a prom- 
inent and wealthy citizen of that city. It soon Decame appa- 
rent that war between the North and South was imminent, and 
not wishing to be on the side of secession and rebellion, he re- 
turned to the North. After remaining a while at home he 
sought the West, and located for a time at Carlinville, Illinois, 
reading law in the office of Governor Johnson, until his pecu- 
niary resources were exhausted, when he retired to Brighton, 

16 



122 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Illinois, and took charge of the academy at that place for one 
year. His career at Brighton was eminently successful, and 
endeared him to the people of that village, of all ages and 
classes. 

When the war between the North and South became seri- 
ous, and the disaster of Bull Run chagrined and mortified the 
people of the North, he enlisted as a private, was elected Lieu- 
tenant, and immediately detailed as Adjutant of the regiment, 
the One Hundred and Twenty-second Illinois. He served as 
Adjutant, Post- Adjutant and Judge- Advocate, at different 
points, till the close of the war, when he was mustered out, at 
Louisville, Kentucky. About the close of the war, his brother, 
Judge Gooding, who had been for several years on the bench in 
the State Senate, was appointed Marshal of the District of Co- 
lumbia, and he prevailed upon the subject of this sketch to 
accompany him to Washington City. Mr. H. C. Gooding, doubt- 
ing his ability to succeed as an attorney at the Capital, was, 
nevertheless, induced to " swing out his shingle." After a few 
weeks of close application to the local law of the District, he 
began the practice, and succeeded far beyond his expectations. 
He soon became recognized as one of the most promising young 
men at the Capital, and for two years engaged in an honorable 
and lucrative practice. But he had never relinquished his love 
for the West, and determined, without further delay, to take 
up his home at the place of his present residence, Evansville. 

He located at Evansville in September, 1867, and began 
the practice of the law, taking the office of Judge Morris S. 
Johnson, then recently elected to the bench. In a short time 
he formed a partnership with Colonel J. S. Buchanan ; and they 
have ever since been associated as partners, and rank as one of 
the best firms in the city. 

In 1870 Mr. Gooding was nominated at Princeton, Indi- 
ana, as Republican candidate for Congress. This was all the 
more flattering, because of the number and character of the 
candidates for the nomination. Among his opponents were 
Hon. Cy. Allen, Hon. A. L. Robinson, Judge Edson, Captain 
Ferguson, Dr. Lewis and R. A. Hill. Captain G. made a vig- 
orous and able canvass. He held twenty-two joint debates 
with his opponent, Judge Niblack, who had been for many 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 123 

years a member of Congress. Though defeated, as all Republi- 
can candidates in the District had been before him, he, never- 
theless did honor to himself and the cause, by his industrious 
and able canvass. 

In the Winter succeeding, on the 15th of February, 1871, 
Mr, G. was married to Miss Mary C. Babcock, the amiable and 
highly - educated daughter of Charles and Amelia Babcock, of 
Evansville. 

In 1872 he was urgently requested by many friends to allow 
his name to be presented to the Republican Convention of the 
County for the office of State Senator. This he finally con- 
sented to do, and was nominated by a very flattering vote. His 
opponent before the Convention was one of the ablest lawyers 
of the State — Hon. Asa Iglehart. Captain G-. served at the 
special and regular sessions of 1872-3. Though a new mem- 
ber, he was placed upon the most important Committees, and 
bore a most conspicuous part in the legislation of both sessions. 

Captain Gooding, though a young man, has arrived at an 
honorable position in the legal profession. A keen and logical 
debater ; possessed of a rich and full-toned voice ; his reputa- 
tion at the bar, as an advocate or an orator on the stump, is 
well established, and betokens an honorable distinction in the 
future. 



Judge William P. Hargrove. 



|,S the son of Rev. Richard H. Hargrave, a minister of the 
Methodist Episcopal Church, who spent fifty years in 
the service, thirty of which were in the saddle. The Judge was 
born at Crawfordsville, Indiana, June 1st, 1832. His early ed- 
ucation was acquired in the Seminary at Crawfordsville and the 
places where his father was stationed, and with such success 
that, at the age of sixteen, he was engaged in teaching school. 
He entered Asbury University one year afterward, and gradu- 
ated in the Class of '54. His aptitude for the classics and gen- 
eral literary taste are still remembered at that institution, and 



124 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

he was always selected by its members as their representative 
in debates or exercises with the other classes. Upon graduat- 
ing, he at once began the study of law in Judge DeBruler's 
office, at Jasper, Indiana. He was also engaged in teaching 
school, and during this time performed the feat of mastering 
the four volumes of Blackstone. He devoted his entire time to 
the study of his profession, when not teaching — working with 
great diligence from 4 o'clock to 8 in the morning, and from 7 
till 10 at night. In July and August of that year he attended 
the first Normal Institute ever held in Southern Indiana, and 
which met at Jeffersonville. He afterwards read law with Hon. 
Sam Judah, recognized as one of the ablest lawyers at the bar. 
Judge Hargrave was admitted to practice at Vincennes, at the 
age of twenty-four years. Here he obtained, in the course of 
a few years, considerable business, and was very successful in 
his course He was an inveterate reader, and having access to 
a large libiary, he improved his opportunity to drink wisdom at 
the very fountains of the law. 

In April, 1862, he came to Evansville, associated with 
Judge Iglehart, and began work under the most favorable aus- 
pices. His labors were, however, interfered with by the war ; 
when, in the August of that year, he enlisted in the army, with 
a Captain's commission, in the Ninety-first Indiana, remaining 
till the close of the war. For three months, during the Fall of 
'63, he commanded a district in Kentucky ; and was Command- 
ant of the Post at CumbeiJand Gap, in the Winter of '63-'64. 
Till the close of the war he occupied the position of Commis- 
sary of Musters, to which he was detached while his regiment 
was on the way to the front. 

In the Fall of '65 he returned to his professional duties 
here. The citizens honored him by electing him to the respon- 
sible position of Prosecuting Attorney of the Fifteenth Judicial 
District. Such has been his success in the discharge of his official 
duties that he served, by the vote of the people, for eight consecu. 
tive terms in this capacity. At the organization of the Vander- 
burgh Criminal Court, he was commissoned as Prosecuting Attor- 
ney of that Court ; and in May, 1872, was appointed its Judge, 
and is still in the satisfactory discharge of its duties. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark, 125 

Judge Hargrave's ideal practice of the profession is advo- 
cacy, in all its departments; and upon this he has attained his 
reputation. He is in the enjoyment of good health, notwith- 
standing his severe mental labors ; his physique shows no bane- 
ful effects of his sedentary habits. He is very laborious in 
preparing his evidence, and his briefs are condensed and ar- 
ranged in an invincible manner The Judge is recognized as 
one of the foremost in the legal profession, but is also a court- 
eous and thorough gentleman, and esteemed by all our citizens. 



James D. Saunders 



j|[f AS born in the County of Lancashire, England, on 
|E| the 2d of November, 1820. His father was a Gov- 
ernment Engineer, and belonging to the Ordnance Department 
of the service, was employed in the Trigonometrical Survey of 
Great Britain and Ireland. He was also engaged in the great 
railroad passing through Manchester, the Bolton Water Works 
and other important enterprises. 

His son, the subject of the present sketch, attended Sand- 
hurst College, near London. He was articled, for five years, 
with Mr. Hawkshaw, Chief Engineer of the Lancashire and 
Yorkshire Railroad. In November, 1850, he left Liverpool for 
America, arriving at New Orleans in January, 1851. 

Before coming to America, he was in France, Ireland and 
Belgium, In the latter country he was Engineer on the Liege 
and Grand Railway He returned to England and occupied 
the same position on the Lancashire Railway. It was his inten- 
tion, atter leaving the Lancashire Railway to go to India as an 
Engineer on the Madras and Bombay Railway. 

From New Orleans he went immediately to Louisville, 
where he was employed on the Louisville, New Albany and 
Chicago Railroad as Division Engineer. In '53 he severed his 
connection with that road, and surveyed the route from Craw- 



126 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

fordsville to Terre Haute. He then engaged with H. C. Moore 
as Engineer of the Evansville, Indianapolis and Cleveland 
Straight Line. He retained this situation till the company 
failed. In 1854 Mr. Saurjders made Evansville his home ; and 
immediately after the failure of the kst-mentioned road, he 
was elected City Engineer. 

In 1861 he entered the army as Captain of Company D, 
Forty-second Indiana Volunteers. He remained in the service 
one year. In 1862 he was elected, for the second time, City 
Engineer, without opposition. For fifteen years he has acted in 
this capacity — there being a few years ad interim He has now 
in contemplation a map showing the profile of the city's plat. 
It is to be published in a style surpassing anything hitherto 
known. 

While a resident of England, he married Miss Mary Swee- 
ney, the daughter of a soldier who served under Wellington. 
The ceremony was performed at the Cathedral of Manchester. 
On coming to America, he left his wife in England ; she after- 
wards joined him at Madison, Indiana. 



John H. Beadle. 



THAMES W. BEADLE, the father of our subject, was 
born in Jefferson County, Kentucky, in the year 1805. 
In 1830 he was married to Elizabeth Bright ; and in the year 
1837 removed to Liberty Township, Parke County, Indiana, 
when John H. was born, on the 14th of March, 1840. 

His early education was such only as could be obtained in 
the very common schools of a very remote country neighbor- 
hood. He was, even thus early in life, distinguished for a 
remarkably active and retentive memory — three perusals of a 
paragraph being sufficient to fix it in his mind. At the age of 
ten years he obtained a prize, given by the Methodist Episco- 
pal Sunday School, of Rockville, for having committed the 
entire New Testament to memory — the greater portion of which 



Evanaville and its Men of Mark. 127 

he retains at the present time, as perfectly as when he received 
the reward for committing the same. 

At the age of nine years he completed the course of study 
taught in ihe common schools at that time, and his father re- 
moved to Roekville, in the same county, in order to give his 
children better educational advantages. In three years John 
H. and his older brother had completed the high-school course, 
and were ready to enter college. But our subject being at this 
time of a peculiarly delicate constitution, it was decided that 
his school-days were at an end. This he did not relish ; as hav- 
ing great aptitude and love of study, and, on the other hand, 
having but little inclination or capacity for manual labor, he 
could but think this decree a perversion of the laws of Nature. 
Yet, for the next five years he spent the time on his father's 
farm, near Roekville — it being about equally divided between 
ordinary farm-labor and driving stock. He also, during this 
time, attended two short Winter terms of school at the Roek- 
ville Academy, in which he reviewed his high-school studies; 
making, beside, some progress in Greek and Surveying. 

In October, 1857, he entered the Freshmen Class of the 
University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor. Here he acquired con- 
siderable distinction in the study of languages — his remarkable 
memory making it but an easy pastime for him to acquire a 
language so that he could read, write, and speak it in a shorter 
space of time than is ordinarily spent on the rudiments. 

During the second year his health gave way, and for some 
time his life was despaired of. After recovering sufficiently to 
travel, he made a short visit home ; then started on an exten- 
sive tour through Illinois, Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota — much 
of the time on foot, and earning his subsistence by such work as 
he could find to do: such as farm-labor, teaming, selling books, 
etc. After four months' residence in Minnesota, his heath be- 
came so much improved that he was able to return to college in 
1800, where he remained until the breaking out of the war. 

After an extended tour through New York, New Jersey, 
Pennsylvania and Ohio, he came home, and enlisted as a pri- 
vate in Company A, of the Thirty-first Indiana Volunteers, 
and served until after the battle of Fort Donelson, when expos- 
ure brought on a disease of the lungs, which nearly terminated 
his life. 






128 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

During the next four years he alternately traveled, taught 
school, and studied law; and in 1866 settled, as he supposed, 
permanently in Evansville, in* the practice of that profession. 
But his health began to give way, and in 1868 he started for 
California, attempting a correspondence with the Cincinnati 
Commercial — as he tells us in the " Undeveloped West " — with 
" the hope of being able to pay part of his expenses." And 
during the next Winter the readers of the Commercial were 
delighted by a series of fresh, spicy and original letters from 
Salt Lake City, signed " Beadle," which proved to be the " trial 
letters " of Mr. Beadle. These letters soon brought him into 
notoriety, causing him to be classed as one of the first newspa- 
per correspondents in our country. 

While in Utah he, for one year edited the Salt Lake Re- 
porter, the only non-Mormon paper in the Territory. He soon 
made this one of the spiciest sheets in the West, and a contin- 
ual " thorn in the flesh " to the Mormons. 

Since leaving this paper he has traveled continuously in 
the Western States and Territories, corresponding for the Cin- 
cinnati Commercial, Western World, and other papers — at the 
same time gathering facte for his books. 

In the early part of the year 1870 he issued his first work, 
entitled " Life in Utah." This is, perhaps, the best and most 
complete history of Mormonism yet written. There have been 
but few books that have sold better than this — Mr. Beadle's 
first book. Up to the present time, eighty thousand copies have 
been sold. This work, which reflects great honor on the writer 
from the clear, impartial statement of the rise, progress, and 
workings of Mormonism — acquired only by the most hard and 
patient labor ; and from the forcible and interesting style in 
which it is written, will deservedly rank it among the reliable 
histories of our land. 

Mr. Beadle in the following year issued a small work, enti- 
tled " The Confessions of Bill Hickman, the Destroying Angel 
of the Mormons." This work had, also, quite a circulation. 

During the present year <; The Undeveloped West," — the 
best, as yet of Mr. Beadle's works — has been issued. It con- 
tains a full — and what is somewhat remarkable for a work on 
the " great West " — a truthful description of the far Western 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 129 

States and Territories. This must deservedly prove a very 
popular work ; as well from the happy style in which it is writ- 
ten, as from the fund of useful information it contains. 

Mr. B.'s style is enlivening rather than finished and often 
drops to colloquialisms and " Hoosier ' phrases ; and after 
reading his latest work one feels as if some good-humored friend 
had dropped in and talked a few hours in the vernacular. 

Mr. Beadle has, perhaps, as fine and varied an education 
as that of any man in our State ; which, together with his re- 
markable memory and more than ordinary happy faculty of 
of expression, has gained for him, even thus early in life, suc- 
cess and fame. 

On last Christmas Mr. Beadle was married in Evansville, 
to Miss Jennie Cole — a lady who is peculiarly qualified, not 
only to gild his life with happiness, but to help and assist him 
in his intellectual labors. 

Mr. Beadle is, as yet, but a young man, and we shall expect 
him to add much to the success he has already obtained ; and 
the future to mark him as one of America's best and most 
widely-known writers. 



The Lindenschmidt Brothers. 




^HARLES and HENRY LINDENSCHMIDT were born 
in Germany, and at an early day were apprenticed in 
the locksmithing and blacksmithing business. The motto of 
" Labor conquers all things," has been fully illustrated in their 
career, Od their arrival in America, in 1849, they went to 
work at their old trade, visiting several parts of the country till 
1855, when they located in Evansville, After engaging with 
Henry Schreiber, Sr., and Boelker & Co., several months, in 
the latter part of 1856 they commenced work on their own ac- 
count as blacksmiths, on First street, between Elm and Pine, 
Beside their business as smiths, they made safes, worked in 
stoves, beside doing a general repair business. The energy and 
17 



130 'Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

faithfulness with which they labored for their patrons gradually 
brought them an extensive as well as lucrative business. Their 
little shop — 20x30 — has expanded into the Washington Foun- 
dry, and which employs about thirty operatives and where the 
annual sales are at present over sixty-five thousand dollars. 
Their architectural castings have illustrated fully the mechan- 
ical ingenuity and ability of Evansville citizens, and have been 
the means of attracting to our city a large and rapidly increas- 
ing trade. Many rare and unique machines are used in the 
manufacture of the products of this firm. Steam-power is ex- 
clusively used ; and all the improvements of the present util- 
izing age have been added from time to time to the equipments 
of the Washington Foundry. From poverty to comparative 
affluence their career has been gradual but sure. With a pur- 
pose to become manufacturers, they labored on from year to 
year, till at last the full fruition of their long and cherished 
desires were realized ; and to-day they occupy an honorable 
position in the mercantile circles of the city. 



Hon. Samuel Hall. 



i|t@$AMUEL HALL, son of John and Elizabeth Hall, was 
^$gg!) born on the 1st of June. 1797, in Somerset County, in 
the State of Maryland. In the year 1805, his father moved 
with his family to the West, and located in Jefferson County, 
Kentucky, where he died in the year 1822. His mother was a 
Ward, sister of the late David L. Ward, one of the most enter- 
prising men of the age, who amassed an immense fortune by his 
individual efforts. 

At the time the subject of this memoir was a boy, there 
were but few schools in the State of Kentucky. The test of 
qualifications in a teacher, in those days, was his handwriting : 
if that was good, no further inquiries were made ; if bad, no 
qualifications, however exalted, could secure him a place as 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 131 

teacher. All the schooling the subject of this memoir received 
was in a log cabin on " Flat Eock," in Jefferson County, Ken- 
tucky. He had, however, pious parents, who instilled into him 
the principles of virtue, and a strict regard for truth. 

In the year 1814, while yet a boy, he, with the consent of 
his parents, left his home in Kentucky, and settled in Gibson 
County, Indiana. Through the recommendation of friends, he 
obtained a situation as clerk in a country store. His employer 
soon after dying, he was again out of business. Being entirely 
out of funds, he contracted with the famed General Robert M. 
Evans, then Clerk of the Circuit Court for Gibson County, to 
write in his office. By the terms of his contract, young Hall 
was to get his board and fifty dollars per annum — a little over 
four dollars per month. While thus engaged he employed all 
his leisure hours in the study of the law. By the most unre- 
mitting perseverance, he prepared himself for the practice in 
seventeen months. Not seventeen months devoted to study ; 
but the spare hours in that time from his daily employment. 
His practice was, to rise early in the morning, and study till 
breakfast ; write in the office till 4 o'clock p. M., and then re- 
sume and continue his study till 12, and sometimes 1 o'clock at 
night. Often has he trimmed the midnight lamp while poring 
over Blackstone, Coke upon Ltttleton, Plowden and Bacon. He 
had no instructor, no guide, other than the books he borrowed. 
Though the path before him looked dark and gloomy — without 
funds, without education, and without patronage — yet he never 
wavered in his purpose. His course was onward. He had de- 
termined, if he lived, on success; and success crowned his 
efforts. In 1820, he obtained a license and commenced the 
practice of his profession ; and such was his attention to busi- 
ness, that he soon obtained a large and lucrative practice. 
Though he was not an eloquent speaker, yet his earnest manner 
always commanded respect and engaged the attention from both 
court and juries. He made it a point to study and investigate 
in extenso every litigated case in which he was employed. He 
never trusted to chance what he could reach by vigilance and 
study. He was always ready, when his cases were called, to 
take them up and dispose of them. In the course of time, he 
acquired the enviable reputation of being an honest and success- 



132 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ful lawyer. Early in his profession he adopted a rule from 
which he never departed — and that was to make an effort to 
bring about a compromise, without suit. Many persons now 
residing in Southwestern Indiana, are living tvitnesses to his 
success in restoring a friendly relation between disputants who, 
if they had not been checked in time, would have embarked in 
lawsuits that might have taken years to settle, and probably at 
the ruin of the parties. 

In 1823 he was admitted as an attorney and counselor of 
law in the Supreme Court of Indiana, and in the District Court 
of the United States. He continued the practice of his profes- 
sion without interruption, until the year 1829, when he yitlded 
to the solicitations of his friends, and became a candidate for 
the Legislature. He was elected over his opponent by a large 
majority. He was re-elected in the year following to the same 
office, and was appointed Chairman of the Judiciary Committee, 
In that capacity he introduced many reforms in the practice of 
the law. 

In 1832 he was elected by the General Assembly Presi- 
dent Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of the State of Indi- 
ana. He held this office for about two years, when, to the regret 
of the bar and community, he resigned it. 

It is a part of the history of the times, that in the year 
1836, the western country ran wild over the subject of internal 
improvements. The State of Indiana embarked in schemes 
which would have cost, when finished, thirty millions of dollars. 
A Board of Public Works, consisting of nine members, was 
created by the General Assembly. This Board had extraordi- 
nary powers. The subject of this memoir was chosen as a mem- 
ber. He entered upon the discharge of the duties assigned him 
in the Spring of 1837. From the very onset he attempted to 
check extravagant appropriations of money. He made efforts 
to confine the expenditures within the means under the imme- 
diate control of the Board, He warned the friends of the sys- 
tem of the ruinous consequences of entering into engagements 
beyond their present means to meet; that such a course would 
in the end, break down the system, and bankrupt the State. 
But his warning voice was disregarded. A mania for a grand 
system seemed to have blinded the great mass of the commu- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark, 133 

nity. Finding his views opposed, at the end of seven months 
he resigned the office as a member of the Board. At a subse- 
quent period, after the system had exploded, the Legislature 
appointed a committee to investigate the subject and the con- 
duct of the members of the Board, to whose management the 
system had been confided. The committee was composed of 
three Whigs and two Democrats. They spent months in the 
investigation of the matter. They at last made a report to the 
General Assembly. Some members of the Board they censured. 
Against others they recommended suit to be brought in the 
name of the State. As respects the subject of this memoir, the 
following is extracted from the journals of the Senate : 

" Mr. Samuel Hall. — This gentleman served as a mem- 
ber of the Board of Internal Improvement, and acting 
commissioner on the Central Canal for eight or nine months. 
During this time he was engaged in active service, attending to 
all the arduous duties imposed on the members of the Board of 
Internal Improvement, at that period. The act of 1836 allowed 
to members of the Board a compensation of $2 per day and 
reasonable expenses. By a somewhat liberal construction of 
the act, and, in the opinion of the committee, an unjustifiable 
one, the Board construed this act to allow them $2 per day for 
the entire year, as appears from the testimony of Mr. Yandes, 
Gen. Long, and others; the entire pav would amount, at this 
rate, to $730. 

" Not being able to keep small accounts of expenditures 
with convenience, by an equally liberal construction of the act, 
the Board fixed the rate of their daily expenditure at $1 50 per 
day lor the entire year, making total allowance for expenses 
the sum of $2,277 50. It is but just to remark that one mem- 
ber of the Board justifies his allowance by the usage established 
by members of the Legislature under a similar act. in taking 
their per diem for holidays and Sundays during the session. So 
far as the holidays are concerned, your committee think that 
the case is fully in point, and that those members who vote 
for adjournment at Christmas and New Year's day, should by no 
means charge the per diem for that time. We are admonished 
by this instance, by which one abuse is justified by another, to 
set better examples in the future. Mr. Hall, in this matter, 
stands on high ground ; he performed duties equal, or nearly 
so, to those of any other member of the Board of Internal Im- 
provement and received his per diem for the time actually en- 
gaged in the public service, charging no more than actual 
expenses, making a total of a little less than 195. We find no 
charge against him whatever." 



134 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

In the year 1840 Judge Hall was elected Lientenant-Gov- 
ernor of the State of Indiana for the term of three years. Being 
ex-officio President of the Senate, he discharged the duties as 
presiding officer of that body for two sessions only. At the 
close of the first session, the Senate, in token of respect, unan- 
imously adopted the following resolution : 

" On motion of Mr. Chamberlain, it was 

" Resolved, That as an expression of the regard we enter- 
tain for Lieutenant-Governor Hall, President of the Senate, we 
extend to him our thanks for the dignified, impartial, and highly 
satisfactory manner in which he has presided over our delibe- 
rations." 

At the close of the second session, the Senate unanimously 
adopted the following resolution : 

" On motion of Mr. Davis, 

" The orders of business were suspended, and leave granted 
him to introduce the following resolution : 

" Resolved, By the Senate unanimously, that the Hon. Sam- 
uel Hall, President thereof, is entitled to our thanks for the 
impartiality, dignity and ability which has characterized his 
presidency, during the present session of the General Assembly. 

<; Which was adopted." 

The reason why Judge Hall did not take his seat as Presi- 
dent of the Senate the third session to which he was elected, 
may be inferred from the following proceedings, which are taken 
from the journals of the Senate : 

" On motion of Mr. Collins, 

" The orders of business were suspended, and leave granted 
him to offer the following, which was unanimously adopted . 

" Whereas, in the dispensation of an inscrutable Providence 
it has pleased the Giver of all Good to visit the Hon. Samuel 
Hall. Lieutenant-Governor of this State with a severe domestic 
bereavement, by taking from him and his family his excellent 
consort, whose exemplary life and many virtues have endeared 
her to a numerous acquaintance, and shed lustre within her 
sphere, and given happiness to all aronnd her : Therefore, 

"Re it unanimously resolved by the Senate, That the melan- 
choly affliction of the Hon. Samuel Hall, in the loss of his wite, 
is deeply felt by the Senate. 

''Resolved, unanimously, That the sympathy of the Senate 
be tendered him, and that the Senate's sincere condolence is 
hereby assured him, in the deeply afflcting dispensati6n it has 
pleased Providence to visit upon him. 

" Resolved, unanimously, That the Secretary of the Senate 
be directed to communicate a copy of the foregoing preamble 
and resolutions to the Hon. Samuel Hall." 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 135 

Judge Hall was called upon to preside over the delibera- 
tions of the Senate of Indiana at a time when party spirit 
raged at its highest. It required strict integrity and a firm 
resolution to prevent a bias in favor of party predilections. 
But he had presided but a short time when his political friends 
ascertained that nothing was to be expected from him but a 
strict and impartial discharge of his duty. 

Having accumulated a large estate by his assiduty to bus- 
iness, Judge Hall gave up the practice of the law, as a business, 
about the year 1840; and afterward did not give much attention 
to the legal profession. 

In the 1849 it was decided by the people of Indiana to call 
a convention to remodel their constitution. In the year follow- 
ing, an election took place throughout the State for the election 
of delegates to the convention. 

It may be proper here to premise that Judge Hall has 
always been a consistent Whig. He was appointed one of the 
Vice-Presidents of the great Whig Convention which assembled 
at Nashville in the year 1840. In the year 1844 he was ap- 
pointed a Delegate to the Baltimore Convention, and after 
reaching that place was chosen one of the Vice-Presidents; 
which latter convention nominated Henry Clay for President of 
the United States. With a knowledge of these facts, the Dem- 
crats as well as the Whigs of Gibson Dounty, with great una- 
nimity, united in placing him in nomination, and after- 
wards ejecting him a Delegate to the State Convention to amend 
the constitution. 

That convention assembled on the first Monday of October, 
1850. It was Democratic, nearly two to one. Jndge Hall was 
placed as chairman of one of the most important committees — 
" On State Debt and Public Works." 

Identified with the prosperity of his adopted State, he felt 
a deep interest in looking forward to that period of time when 
Indiana shall be out of debt. He made a labored calculation, 
based upon the future resources of the State, by which he proved 
with great clearness, that in sixteen years, the last dollar of her 
indebtedness would be paid off. In order to prevent a diver- 
sion of the revenues of the State, he drew up and reported the 
section which provides that " all the revenues derived from the 



136 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

sale of any of the public works belonging to the State, and from 
the net annual income thereof, and any surplus that may, at 
any time, remain in the treasury, derived from taxation for gen- 
eral State purposes, after the payment of the ordinary expenses 
of the Government, and of the interest on bonds of the State, 
other than bank bonds ; shall be annually applied, under the 
direction of the General Assembly, to the payment of the prin- 
cipal of the public debt." 

He also reported another section, which prevents any new 
debt being contracted on the part of the State, except to meet 
casual deficits in the revenue. Both of these sections were in- 
corporated in the new constitution. 

Judge Hall, for many years, contended that it was wrong 
in the fundamental laws of a country to allow any person to 
become answerable, as security, for the debt of another. He 
says the contracting parties, being alone interested in the profits 
growing out of the contract, the one in selling, the other in 
purchasing, they alone should run the risk of a loss. He 
brought the subject before the Legislature of Indiana, in the 
year 1831, but the doctrine being new, did not meet with much 
favor. He brought the subject before the convention in 1850. 
As chairman of the committee to whom the subject was refer- 
red, he reported the section here appended. It was sustained 
by a respectable minority in the convention, but was voted down 
by the majority. He thought the time would arrive when it 
would be adopted as the law of the land. 

The section above referred to read as follows : 

" No man shall be held to answer for the debt, default or 
miscarriage of any other person upon any contract entered into 
from and after the year 1860, except in cases where executors, 
administrators, guardians, trustees, and public officers, are 
required to give bond and security, and where security is given 
to persons acting in a fiduciary capacity." 




H. W. CLOUD, M. D. 



H. W. Cloud, M.D..A.M. 

1 



Hf^AMES C. CLOUD, the father of Dr. H. W. Cloud, was 
born in Boone County, Kentucky, in the year 1805, and 
was a farmer by occupation. He remained here until his mar- 
riage to Miss Susan Snyder, of the same county. Mr. Cloud 
soon afterward removed to Henderson County, and engaged in 
the family grocery business. 

On the 7th of September, 1833, the subject of this sketch 
was born ; and when about fifteen years of age. his parents 
went to Louisville, Kentucky, where he enjoyed excellent facil- 
ities in securing a common school education. Having a taste 
for books, and literary ambition, coupled with a determination 
to secure an education, he entered Asbury University with only 
twenty dollars to last him for four years. He remained here 
until the second term of his Senior year, when, with eight of 
his class, in the noted Eebellion of '56, he withdrew from As- 
bury, and graduated at the State University. 

While at college, Dr. Cloud's favorite studies were Geology 
and Chemistry, and he pursued an after-graduate course in 
chemistry and medicine at the University of Kentucky, at Lou- 
isville. He received the degree of A. M. from Bloomington, 
and, in 1871, the same honorary degree from Asbury. For 
some time Dr. Cloud had charge of a select school at Owens- 
boro ; and his rare fund of information, his excellent literary 
qualities and genial disposition, made it a great success. He 
was speedily called to the Presidency of Henry Female College, 
at Newcastle, Kentucky. There is no doubt, had he chosen to 
follow his course, he would have gained high rank among the 
best professors and educators of the country. The college was 
in a most flourishing condition, with one hundred and fifty 
ladies in attendance, mostly from the South. The breaking out 
of the war interfered, however, with its further progress ; and 
18 



138 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

in 1862 Dr. Cloud left Kentucky and engaged in the retail drug 
business at Sullivan, Indiana. In 1865 he came to Evansville 
and engaged with his brother-in-law, Wm. M. Akin, Esq., in 
the wholesale drug business, and had complete control of the 
manufacturing department. As a practical chemist, Dr. Cloud 
has enjoyed rare success ; while his business ability and manly 
traits as a gentleman are well recognized in this section. He 
has followed his favorite study — Chemistry and its kindred 
subjects — with ardor all his life ; but not to the neglect of gen- 
eral literature and history. He is well versed in philological 
studies, and is a very fine Latin scholar, in particular. Dr. 
Cloud is an educated man and a gentleman of high worth, and 
has accomplished much for the educational interests of our city 
in his responsible position as President of the Board of Educa- 
tion. In '59 Dr. Cloud was married to Miss Sarah M. Akin, 
daughter of R. M. Akin, Esq., of Carlisle, Indiana. Three child- 
ren have been born to them — two daughters and one son — 
the latter named in honor of the greatest of living scientists of 
the present generation — Faraday. 



Prudence Sherwood. 



HISfRS. PRUDENCE SHERWOOD, wife of Marcus 
jIIeIj) Sherwood, of this city, was born in Kentucky, in 
January, 1808. Her father and mother, Alexander and Mary 
Johnson, removed to Gibson County, Robb Township, in 1820, 
and remained in that township till about 1826, when the fam- 
ily removed to Evansville. The mind of Prudence was early 
turned to the subject of religion. Her parents were pious, and 
early taught their daughter her duty to her Heavenly Father. 
She became decidedly pious when about twelve years of age, 
and was firm in Christian character throughout the remainder 
of her life. 

On the 27th of November, 1834, she was united to Marcus 
Sherwood in marriage. 




PRUDENCE SHEBWOOD. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 139 

Her life has been spent in this city. She ever took a lively 
interest in all that pertained to the welfare of the community. 
Active and industrious, she ever gave earnest aid to her hus- 
band in his various enterprises. She did not stop at caring for" 
the material interests alone ; she sought to promote the moral 
and spiritual interests of society. She was generous — full of 
noble impulses. Her charity kept pace with all other interests. 

This is attested by the number of orphan children she has 
reared and trained for usefulness. No less than four of those 
helpless ones have found a home in her house — some of them 
remaining with her during seventeen years. At times there 
were in her family three of them together. Thus did she prove 
her theory by actual work. Her steady piety was conspicuous 
in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church, of which she was a 
member from its organization in January, 1851. From that 
time until her death she was active in all that she thought use- 
ful to her congregation. 

The church was feeble, and but few gentlemen were mem- 
bers — much of the work of the church had to be performed by 
the ladies, and Mrs, Sherwood bore her full share in those duties. 

Her house was a place of rest and welcome to the ministers 
of religion. Her sound judgment and quick discernment ena- 
bled her to afford useful hints to her pastor; in the various parts 
of his official duty, She was much given to prayer and medi- 
tation on the moral and religious state of those around her ; 
hence, she was warmly in sympathy with those in distress. The 
poor, the needy, the sick, were neither forgotten nor neglected. 

But her useful life is finished. It closed amid life's duties 
performed to the last. Those duties were carried down to the 
last moments that found her with strength to do, or voice with 
which to counsel. Death came after a severe illness of more 
than fourteen weeks. She endured very great suffering during 
all that time, with admirable fortitude and resignation. Some 
weeks before she died she was greatly comforted by the pre- 
cious promises of the Holy Scriptures. She often spoke of the 
blessing and comfort of religion, and earnestly urged her imme- 
diate family to seek an interest in the Saviour — now so gracious 
to her. 



140 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

When the hour lor her departure came, she was fully pre- 
pared. On the morning of July 18th, 1870, at five minutes past 
2 o'clock, she gently sank to rest. " The memory of the just is 
blessed." Her bereaved husband and her only son share the 
sympathy of the community, while the church laments the loss 
of a true and faithful member. 




James Henderson McNeely 



J AS born in Lawrenceburgh, Dearborn County, Indi- 
ana, July 2d, 1828. Received a common school 
education, and at the age of fifteen years commenced to make 
his own living by clerking, trading, and working in the news- 
paper offices of his native town. In 1846 he set in as an appren- 
tice to learn the printing business in the Western Republican 
office at Lawrenceburgh. In 1847 he went to Cincinnati, in 
order to gain a better insight into the "Art Preservative " than 
he could hope to enjoy in a provincial office. Worked in the 
Commercial, Gazette, and other offices in the " Queen City " 
until 1849, and when the cholera became epidemic, returned 
to Lawrenceburgh. During that Summer and Fall, in connec- 
tion with two fellow-printers, he was engaged in publishing the 
Journal, the only daily paper ever published there. 

In November, 1849, he removed to Indianapolis, and after 
a year's experience in telegraphing (as manager of the O'Reilly 
office, on the first line built in this State,) clerking, and travel- 
ing as journeyman printer, he entered the Indianapolis Journal 
office as local editor, proof reader, and general " utility man " 
of the establishment. Remained there until 1854. Was one 
of an association of five interested with the proprietor — Hon. 
John D. Defrees — in the profits of the establishment during the 
last year. In April, 1854, he started, in connection with one 
of his associates — Wm. S. Cameron — the " Capital Book and Job 
Printing Office," the first of the kind ever in Indianapolis. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 141 

Continued in that business until November, 1859, when he 
removed to Evansville. Part of the time he was one of the 
publishers of the Indiana Republican, daily and weekly, and 
the Citizen, a daily evening newspaper. He assisted in edit- 
ting the former, and was principal editor of the latter while 
performing other duties. 

In December, 1859, he became one of the proprietors and 
editors of the Evansville Journal, daily and weekly. In May, 
1861, became Postmaster, was re-appointed in 1865, and re- 
mained in that office until May, 1867, when he was removed for 
political reasons by President Johnson. In July, 1866, sold 
his interest in the Journal to Colonel J. W. Foster. Turned 
his attention to the business of a real estate agent, and acted 
as assignee in a number of bankruptcy cases, also as a 
notary, in connection with Mr. John Schubert, (now deceased,) 
until July. 1869, when he assumed the duties of the office 
of Assessor of Internal Revenue for the First District of 
Indiana, to which he had been appointed in May. In May, 
1873, the office ceased, all assessorships having been abolished 
by act of Congress the previous December. He bore an active 
part in the practical duties of both offices, and there are good 
reasons for believing that both the public and the Government 
were well served during his incumbency, 

Mr. McNeely has recently been appointed Superintendent 
of Construction of the Public Building to be erected by the 
United States at Evansville. Work will probably not com- 
mence thereon until the Spring or Summer of 1874 ; but in the 
meantime he is engaged in the genera) agency business. ,He 
does not propose to remain idle, as his motto is : " Better wear 
out than rust out." 

The subject of this sketch was married on Christmas Eve, 
1853, to Miss Margaret Park, of Avon, Lorain County, Ohio. 
They have two children — daughters — having lost a son and 
daughter by death in 1856 and 1857 respectively. 

Mr. McNeely has had considerable to do with political 
matters, and though an active partisan, he has no other than 
kind feelings toward political opponents. He was raised a 
Whig, and has been a Republican since that party was organ- 
ized. 



142 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

He became a member of the Independent Order of Odd 
Fellows in January, 1851, and has been a member continuously 
since that time. He passed all the " Chairs " in the Lodge and 
Encampment branches, and attained membership in both Grand 
bodies, many years ago. 

Our subject is descended from Scotch-Irish stock. His 
father and mother — Elisha and Catharine D. McNeely — re- 
moved from Western Pennsylvania in the early period of the 
settlement of our State. Their immediate ancestors bore an 
active part in the Indian and border troubles of that section. 
Two of the family names — Hamilton and Laughery — were 
prominent in the early history of Pennsylvania and the West.. 
Laughery Creek, in Southeastern Indiana, was named in honor 
of one of the latter, Colonel Archibald Laughery, who, with a 
detachment of troops, was massacred by the Indians, near that 
stream, while on their way to reinforce General George Rogers 
Clarke, in the year 1781. 



Rev. J. \/. Dodge 



'AS born in NewYork City, Oct. 14, 1815. Col. Henry 
S. Dodge, the father of the subject of the present 
sketch, served in the war of 1812, and was stationed at Sack- 
ett's Harbor with the command of General Richard Dodge, and 
his mother was a niece of Colonel Richard Varick. In 1818 
the family removed to Kaskaskia, a French settlement. Colonel 
Dodge practiced law here for seven years. He then returned 
to Brooklyn, where he died in 1824. 

His son had occasionally attended school in Kaskaskia, 
where he was remarkable tor his good spelling. On his return 
to Brooklyn a tutor was employed for him. Wm. Sherwood, a 
celebrated Scotch teacher, fitted him tor Columbia College in 
eighteen months ; and on account of his progress, Colonel Var- 
ick made him a Director for life of the American Bible Society. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 143 

He remained only one year at Columbia, when he entered the 
Sophomore class at Yale. He graduated in 1836 and immedi- 
ately entered Princeton Theological Seminary, where he gradu- 
ated in 1837. Evansville became the field of his first pastoral 
labor. His church consisted of six members, and as yet they had 
no house of worship. He was ordained and installed in St. Paul's 
Episcopal Church in 1841 by the Presbytery of Vincennes. He 
was pastor at the time the Vine Street Church was built — the lot 
being purchased by the Henderson Presbyterian Church for $300 
and presented to the Church. The building cost $2,108. Hav- 
ing a new building in prospect, this property was recently sold 
for $14,000. Mr. Dodge remained in this connection ten years, 
at the close of which time the church numbered one hundred 
and twenty members. Since 1850 he has preached in Jackson- 
ville, Canton, Providence, and Wheeling, Virginia. 

In '61 he returned to Evansville. He was appointed chap- 
lain of the Government hospitals, in which position he remained 
three years. While here he had the misfortune to break both 
arms, the accident being caused by the horses attached to the 
ambulance wagon running away. 

He was married to Miss Augusta Dupuy, daughter of B. 
F. Dupuy, a highly respected citizen. Six children were born 
to them : Rev. Henry A. Dodge, stationed at St. Paul ; Mrs. 
Helen Ames, completing her musical education in Europe, and 
Miss Jennie Dodge, are the only ones now living, 

Mrs. Dodge died at Jacksonville in 1855. In 1857 Mr. 
Dodge married Miss Mary Eliza, sister of his first wife. 



Alien Hamilton, Esq. 



r^UljT is a crowning glory of the United States that the paths 
l$m) to wealth and to political and social distinction are 
here open to all — to the adopted as well as the native-born cit- 
izen ; and there are few whose histories better illustrate what 
can be accomplished by energy and integrity, under republican 
institutions, than the subject of this sketch. 



144 Evansvillc and its Men of Mark. 

Mr. Hamilton was a foreigner by birth. He was born in 
the year 1798, in the county of Tyrone, in the north of Ireland. 
His ancestors emigrated from Scotland at an early period, and 
their descendant, whose biography we shall briefly sketch, 
seems to unite in his disposition and character some of the 
most striking qualities of both nations : the warm-heartedness 
and impulsiveness of the Irish, with the energy, perseverance 
and frugality of the Scotch. His father, Andrew Hamilton, 
was a younger son, a lawyer by profession, and maintained, for 
many years, a respectable standing as an Irish attorney. He 
held, for some time, the honorable position of Deputy Clerk for 
the Crown. Having, however, lived fully up to his income, and 
resigned his clerkship, and soon after his resignation having 
been attacked by a severe sickness, which prostrated not only 
his physical, but, to some degree, his intellectual energies, his 
affairs fell into confusion, he became deeply, and, as it proved, 
inextricably embarrassed. 

About the same time his elder brother, to whom had de- 
scended the real estate of the family, became involved in expens- 
ive litigation, which resulted in leaving him in circumstances 
scarcely better than those of his brother Andrew. 

As soon, therefore, as young Hamilton, who was the eldest 
of the family, became old enough to appreciate his condition, 
he perceived that he could expect no aid from his father or his 
relatives, and that if he made headway in the world, it must 
be by his own efforts. This conviction, however, it seems, in- 
stead of disheartening him, only stimulated him to exertion, 
and developed powers that otherwise might never have been 
brought into action. It was the habit of self-reliance thus 
formed in his boyhood, that nerved him to leave his home and 
his friends, cross the Atlantic, travel on .foot from Montreal to 
Philadelphia, push on to the West, and fight his way to wealth 
and respectability, amid the hardships and dangers of a wild 
country. 

Fortunately for Mr. Hamilton, his mother, Elizabeth Allen, 
was a woman not only of warm affections, but of great strength 
of character. Though highly connected and reared in opulence, 
the embarrassments of her husband neither embittered her dis- 
position nor impaired her energies. It is to her influence, her 



Bvansville and its Men of Mark. 145 

instructions and prayers, that Mr. Hamilton mainly attributes 
his success in life, and his escape from those follies and vices 
into which young men, exposed as he had been, are so apt to 
fall. From her he learned those lessons of moral rectitude for 
which he has ever been distinguished. From her, too, he inher- 
ited, as far as it was hereditary, that energy of purpose which 
has enabled him to overcome difficulties which, to most young 
men, would have been insurmountable. 

Finding that the embarrassed circumstances of her husband 
would den) her son proper opportunities for an education at 
home, and determined to do for him everything in her power, 
she applied to her aunt, Mrs. Montgomery, of Donegal County, 
to take him for a season into her own family, and send him to 
an academy in the vicinity of her house. The application met 
with a favorable response, and young Hamilton, at the age of 
twelve, was transferred to the hospitable mansion of Mrs. Mont- 
gomery, where he remained for two years attending school and 
enjoying the advantages of a fine society, which the position and 
talents of his relative drew around her. When he was four- 
teen he returned home, and found that the embarrassments of 
his father had so much increased during the past two years, as 
to make it the duty of his son to do what he could to aid in the 
support of the family." He therefore reluctantly gave up his 
studies, and the hopes he had entertained of obtaining such an 
education as would qualify him for the bar, and for the next 
four years he devoted himself exclusively to the service of his 
father. When he was eighteen years old, at one of his annual 
visits to Mrs. Montgomery, he was introduced to a gentleman 
who had just returned from a tour through the United States 
and warm in his praises of this new country and its free insti- 
tutions. From this gentleman he obtained a copy of Jefferson's 
Notes, which he read with avidity ; and from this time the 
United States became to him the land of promise. During, this 
visit, a grandson of Mrs. Montgomery, a young gentleman of 
his own age, now an English barrister, taunted him with his 
poverty and his gloomy prospects, Hamilton was proud and 
sensitive. Undeserved as he felt the reproaches of his compan- 
ion to be, they nevertheless wounded him severely. He re- 
flected more seriously than he had ever done before upon his 

19 



146 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

own prospects and those of his family. The country about which 
he had been hearing and reading, where there were no privil- 
eged classes and no bloated aristocracy, but an open field for 
the exercise of industry and talent, came up to his mind in 
vivid contrast with his dearly loved but down-trodden Ireland, 
and before ne returned home he determined to emigrate to 
America, as soon as he could raise money enough to pay his 
expenses. 

Mrs. Montgomery, to whom he communicated his determin- 
ation, warmly approved of it, but insisted that he should go to 
Canada instead of the United States. This was contrary to his 
wishes, but having confidence in her judgment, and being prom- 
ised letters to friends of hers in Quebec, he submitted himself 
to her direction. Returning home, he set himself resolutely to 
work to make the necessary arrangements for his departure, and 
having, within the next year, by his own exertions and the aid 
of some friends, raised money enough to pay for his passage and 
to support him for a few weeks after his arrival in the New 
World, he bade adieu to his relatives and friends and to his 
native land, and sailed for Quebec in July, 1817. 

Having arrived at his place of destination, he delivered 
his letters of introduction to a Mr. Irwin, of the police depart- 
ment, by whose kindness he became acquainted with some fam- 
ilies of distinction, through whose influence he obtained the 
promise of employment as clerk in an extensive shipping house. 
He was, however, doomed to severe disappointment. Before he 
entered upon the discharge of the duties of his clerkship, he 
was taken down with ship fever, which had broken out in the 
ship in which he had taken passage, before her arrival in Que- 
bec. The attack was a severe one, but a stout heart and a 
good constitution triumphed over the disease, and after being 
prostrated for six weeks, during which time his little stock of 
money was nearly exhausted, he was able to leave his room, but 
not to occupy the place that had been secured for him. The 
terrible fever, which is so generally fatal, had, in this instance, 
been foiled of its prey, but it had so impaired the constitution 
of the young emigrant that his physician was of the opinion 
that a Canadian Winter would be too severe for him, and advised 
him to leave Quebec for a milder climate. In accordance with 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 147 

this advice, he proceeded to Montreal, but had scarcely reached 
that city before he had a relapse, on his recovery from 'which, 
he found that he had but a little more money than enough to 
pay the expenses of his sickness. 

In a strange land, without friends and without money, and 
with a constitution severely shattered by disease, the prospects 
of the young adventurer were gloomy enough. Unable to work, 
without a single acquaintance to whome he could apply for ad- 
vice, he determined to make an efiort to reach the United States. 
Selecting, therefore, from his wardrobe such articles of cloth- 
ing — not excepting his only overcoat — as were not absolutely 
necessary for his journey, he disposed of them for such price as 
he could obtain, and with a small bundle, containing a change 
of linen, and a few dollars in his pocket, he started for the 
South. 

He walked to St. John's and passed over to Vermont in an 
Indian canoe. Continuing his journey, he proceeded on foot 
through Albany and New York to Philadelphia, the climate of 
which he supposed would be more favorable to him than that 
of any city further north. 

This journey must have been as disheartening to the unfor- 
tunate emigrant as can easily be imagined. 

He had no acquaintance in the United States. His con- 
stitution, which had been excellent before he left Ireland, had 
given way under the attacks of fever at Quebec and Montreal. 
His natural enthusiasm had yielded to the stern realities of his 
trials and his sufferings ; yet, day after day, he pursued his 
toilsome journey, sustained by a firmness of purpose that wouid 
not yield to discouragements, and by the hope that fortune 
would yet smile upon him and open the way lor him not only 
to better his own condition, but to secure a home and a compe- 
tency for his parents. Having reached Philadelphia, and taken 
the cheapest respectable lodgings he could find he started out 
in quest of employment. All his efforts were, for a time, una- 
vailing. Penniless and almost disheartened — refused employ- 
ment as a common porter on account of his delicate appear- 
ance — he wandered through the streets until his eye was 
arrested by an advertisement for laborers, on the door of an iron 
store. He immediately entered the store and presented him- 



148 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

self before the proprietor and asked for work. Fortunately for 
Hamilton, the gentleman he addressed was a kind-hearted Qua- 
ker, who was at once interested in the delicate appearance and 
earnest but respectful manner of the young Irishman. He 
drew from him his history, and promised him assistance. Nor 
was the promise forgotten : in a day or two a clerkship, with a 
salary of one hundred dollars a year and board, was obtained 
for the young adventurer, and from that time his lucky star was 
in the ascendant. He remained with his employer, at an in- 
creased salary after the first year, until the Spring of 1820, 
when he determited to visit a cousin, General James Dill, who, 
he understood, resided at Lawrenceburgh, Indiana. He arrived 
at Lawrenceburgh in July ; found his cousin, clerk of the court 
for Dearborn County, and entered his office with a view of pre- 
paring himself for the bar, agreeing to write six hours a day 
for his board and the use of his cousin's library. While at 
Lawrenceburgh he was introduced to some of the first men of 
the State, and became intimate at the house of Hon. Jesse L. 
Holman, one of the Judges ot the Supreme Court, and after- 
ward Judge of the United States Court of the District of Indi- 
diana; one of whose daughters, Miss Emeline J., a young lady 
of rare virtue and accomplishments, he afterwards married. 

In the year 1823, Captain Samuel C. Vance, who had been 
an officer under the gallant but unfortunate General St. Clair, 
was appointed Register of the Land Office, at Fort Wayne, in 
the heart of an unbroken wilderness. At his instance Hamil- 
ton was induced to visit this frontier post. The situation of 
Fort Wayne, at the junction of two beautiful rivers, the St. 
Mary's and St. Joseph's at the head of the great Wabash val- 
ley, pleased and interested him. He perceived, also, its great 
local advantages, and, shortly after his arrival, he determined 
to make it his place of permanent residence. As soon as this 
resolution was formed, he entered the office of Captain Vance 
as Deputy Register, and pursued for some time his legal studies 
with a view of being admitted to the bar as soon as the natu- 
ralization laws of the country would permit. It shortly, how- 
ever, became obvious to him that the practice of the law in so 
new a country as the one in which he had located, would not 
be profitable enough to enable him to carry into effect his long 




G 



3 

pq 

a 

c 
u 

o 

T3 
C 
CQ 

a 

3 
o 



a, 
O 

* 

2 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 149 

cherished plan of removing his parents to the United States. 
and he determined to turn his attention to merchandising, the 
only business that seemed to promise safety in investment and 
speedy and profitable returns. His good character enabled him 
to purchase a small stock of goods on credit, and the year after 
his arrival at Fort Wayne, he commenced a small trade chiefly 
with the Indians. His success altogether exceeded his expect- 
ations, and in the course of a year or two he found himself with 
capital and credit enough to carry on an extensive and profit- 
able business. 

It. was the good fortune of Mr. Hamilton to be connected, 
in his mercantile and real estate operations, with Cyrus Taber, 
Esq., for many years a resident of Logansport, one of the most 
enterprising and indefatigable men of the State. The connec- 
tion was formed soon after Mr, Hamilton settled at Fort Wayne 
and continued for many years. The firm of Hamilton & Taber 
became widely known, and none in the State has ever enjoyed 
a higher or more merited credit. 

Mr. Hamilton was also fortunate in securing at an early 
day the confidence of John B. Eichardville, for many years the 
principal chief of the Miami Indians. This chief was one of 
the uiost remarkable men which his nation, prolific as it had 
been of marked characters ever produced. Clear-headed, cau- 
tious, prudent, non-committal, always adroitly obtaining the 
opinion of others before he made known his own, no advantage 
could be obtained over him in his negotiations with the Govern- 
ment, and no trader could obtain the good will of the nation 
contrary to his wishes. For some time after Hamilton settled 
in Fort Wayne, the chief marked his course with his usual cau- 
tion and discrimination ; and, being pleased with the manly 
character, steady habits, and honorable bearing of the young 
stranger, he. solicited his friendship and gradually gave him his 
confidence, For many years before his death he took no impor- 
tant step, in relation to his own affairs or those of the nation, 
without consulting his friend. The friendship of the chief se- 
cured for Hamilton, to a large degree, the confidence of the 
nation ; and while this confidence resulted in solid advantage to 
him, it was never abused. After the death of Eichardville, 
and before the nation was removed to its present home, west of 



150 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

the Mississippi, he continued to be the steadfast friend of the 
tribe, and exerted in their councils a greater influence than was 
probably ever possessed by any one who was not of their blood. 

In the year 1829, the year after his marriage, Mr. Hamil- 
ton sent to Ireland for his next younger brother ; and in 1831, 
he prepared to carry into execution his long cherished deter- 
mination of removing his parents and other brothers and sisters 
to the United States. Before this could be effected, however, 
his mother died ; and he was thus denied the happiness of wel- 
coming her to the home he had labored so hard to secure for 
her in his adopted country. The rest of the family accepted 
his invitation, and he had, soon after, the satisfaction of greet- 
ing them under his own roof, and making suitable provision for 
their comfort and happiness in their new home. 

Nor is it as a business man, and in pecuniary matters alone 
that Mr. Hamilton has been su3cessful ; he has received a libe- 
ral share of public honors. 

In 1824 he was appointed sheriff to organize the county of 
Allen, which office he held two years, by the election of the 
people. In 1830 he was elected County Clerk, which office he 
held for seven years. In 1834 he was selected to be Secretary 
of the commission appointed to negotiate a treaty with the Mi- 
amies. In 1838 the same office was again tendered to him and 
accepted, 

In the Spring of 1840, under the administration of Mr. Van 
Buren, the Government being desirous of extinguishing the title 
of the Miamies to their lands in Indiana, and inducing them to 
remove to the West, appointed Mr. Hamilton, thuugh a political 
opponent of the administration, one ot the commissioners to 
treat with them upon these important matters. A treaty was 
effected in accordance with the wishes of the Government, by 
which the Indians sold their remaining lands in Indiana, and 
agreed to remove to the home that had been secured for them 
west of the Mississippi, within a period of five years 

These three last and important treaties could not, it is 
probable, have been effected without the co-operation of Mr. 
Hamilton. Such was the confidence reposed iu him by the 
chief and his council, thas no treaty could have been made con- 
trary to his wishes and advice. 






Evansville and its Men of Mark. 151 

He advised the Indians to sell their lands in Indiana and 
remove, because he had been long satisfied that their preserva- 
tion, as a race, depended upon their being withdrawn from the 
corrupting influences that surrounded them where they were. 

In 1841 Mr. Hamilton was appointed, under the influence 
of the administration of General Harrison, agent of the Miam- 
ies, which office he held until the election of Mr. Polk, when he 
resigned. During this period, he disbursed between $300,000 
and $400,000, and discharged the responsible duties of the 
agency to the satisfaction of the Government and the Indians. 
As agent, although not clothed with any judicial power, it be- 
came necessary for him to decide upon the merits of claims 
which were presented to the tribe for payment on the receipt of 
their regular annuities. His conduct, therefore, was watched 
with the utmost keenness and jealousy, and it is the highest 
compliment to Mr. Hamilton, that during his guardianship of 
the Miamies, no charge was ever brought against him implicat- 
ing his honor or his integrity. The Indians confided in him as 
a friend and protector, while the traders were forced to respect 
an integrity that could not be seduced, even while it stood in 
the way of their interests. 

In 1850 Mr. Hamilton was elected delegate for the county 
of Allen, to the convention for the revision of the constitution 
of Indiana. The county was largely Democratic, and his com- 
petitor a Democrat of large acquaintance and skillful address. 
The election of Mr. Hamilton, under such circumstances, by a 
handsome majority, is evidence of the estimation in which he 
was held by his fellow-citizens. In the convention he was ap- 
pointed Chairman of the Committee on Currency and Banking, 
being among the most interesting and exciting subjects that de- 
manded the consideration and action of that body. Being him- 
self favorable to a continuance of the State bank system, but at 
the same time not opposed to a well-regulated system of free 
banking, that should give entire security to the bill-holder, he 
necessarily came in conflict not only with those who were op- 
posed to all banks, but also with those who were so wedded to 
a particular theory as to be unable to see merit in any other. 

The result of the deliberations of the convention upon 
these subjects was an adoption of the provision authorizing the 



152 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

establishment of free banks, in imitation of the New York sys- 
tem, and also of one granting to the Legislature the power of 
incorporating a State bank an. I branches. The authority was 
therefore left to the people to adopt either system, or both, as 
the wants and experience of the future should direct. The 
adoption of these compromise provisions was as much owing to 
the course and influence of Mr. Hamilton as that of any other 
member of the convention. Under the new constitution a free 
banking law was enacted. Tne wisdom of the convention, in 
the disposition it made of this subject, is generally acknowl- 
edged. The aim of Mr. Hamilton in the convention was to be 
useful ; and although he was not classed among the eloqueut 
men of that body, there were few who brought to bear upon 
the subjects that came up for consideration clearer views or 
safer judgment. 

He believed that the organic law of a State, while con- 
servative in its character, should throw no obstacles in the way 
of progress in the right direction. While he opposed the radi- 
calism that would entirely disregard the experience of the past, 
he would not hesitate to adopt a principle which appeared to 
his mind practicable, and in accordance with the spirit of the 
age, merely because it had not received the sanction of previous 
law-makers. His views, and those of kindred minds, prevailed 
in the convention, and the new constitution of Indiana, while 
it violates no law and fully protects the person and property of 
the citizen, presents no barrier to the most searching and com- 
prehensive reforms. 

Mr. Hamilton was in the enjoyment of an ample fortune. 
The little trading-post, Fort "Wayne, has become one of the 
most important cities in the State, and the wilderness which 
once surrounded it has become the home of a large and enter- 
prising population. His mercantile operations were entirely 
successful, and his investments in real estate more than realized 
his anticipations. His position presented an agreeable contrast 
with his prospects when he wandered through the streets of 
Philadelphia, seeking employment as a common laborer. 

For some years he had been engaged in no regular busi- 
ness. He held, for many years, the presidency of the Branch 
Bank at Fort Wayne. The duties of this position did not on- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 153 

cupy much of his time, and he has enjoyed for many years the 
" otium cum dignitatem which is the legitimate result of honest 
enterprise and successful labor. 

Mr. Hamilton was a firm and consistent friend of the Erie & 
Wabash Canal, and assisted our citizens in many of their rail- 
road projects. Though never a resident of our city, his contin- 
ual symathy with, and labors for this section have indissolubly 
connected his name with our progress in the last forty years. 

— Review. 




George W. Norton, Esq. 



? ILLIAM NORTON, the father of George W. Norton, 
removed from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, to Rus- 
sellville, Kentucky, in 1811. In 1813 he married Miss Mary 
Hise, a lady distinguished for her intelligence, energy, and 
practical good sense. He was universally esteemed for his pro- 
bity and industry. 

George W., the oldest child, was born and educated in 
Russellville. In his fifteenth year he went into a dry goods 
store as clerk ; by industry and attention to his duties, gained 
the confidence of his employers, and was enabled to begin bus- 
iness on his own account in his nineteenth year. He was actively 
and successfully engaged in commercial pursuits until the Au- 
tumn of 1849, when he determined to retire from active employ- 
ments until his naturally feeble constitution and usually feeble 
health could be somewhat restored. 

The charter of the Southern Bank of Kentucky, with a 
capital of two millions of dollars, having been amended by the 
Legislature of his State, the friends of the institution in the 
Spring of 1850, determined to put it into operation at once. 
Upon the organization of the Board of Directors, at the very 
urgent solicitations of the stockholders and directors, Mr. Nor- 
ton was induced to accept the presidency of the bank. His 
success in commercial pursuits gave confidence to the community 
that the bank would be prudently and judiciously managed — 
20 



154 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

expectations which were not disappointed. The Southern Bank 
of Kentucky had the confidence of the public to an extent not 
surpassed by any similar institution. 

In his intercourse with his fellow-men he has endeavored 
to be influenced by strict integrity — as a consequence he has the 
confidence and esteem of all who know him. 

At the age of about eighteen he became a member of the 
church, and has endeavored to live the life of a Christian. 

In 1847 he was married to Miss Martha Stewart Henry, 
daughter of the late Major M. W. Henry, of Kentucky. 

As President of the Southern Bank of Kentucky, Mr. Nor. 
ton's pecuniary aid to Evansville's enterprises has made his 
name familiar to our ears as a constant friend to the Crescent 
City. 




Hon. Archibald Dixon. 



[From " Portraits of Eminent Americans," 1853.] 



write the biography of a living man is a task of diffi- 
culty and delicacy. To speak well of him would be 
deemed adulation by his enemies ; and to speak ill of him, no 
better than murder by his friends. In the following we shall 
endeavor to speak the truth, yet we will not deny that our pre- 
possessions are in favor of our subject ; and must candidly ad- 
mit that if we had esteemed it our duty to condemn more than 
to praise, we should have left the work to other hands. As it 
is brief, it may not be tedious ; and as it is the life of one whose 
name bas not yet been associated with national affairs, it may 
excite curiosity. 

Archibald Dixon, of Kentucky, was born on the 2d of 
April, 1802, in the county of Caswell, North Carolina. His 
grandfather, Henry Dixon, was a colonel in the Revolutionary 
army ; and at the battle of Eutaw Springs received a wound 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 155 

from a cannon shot, which carried away a great part of one side 
of his face, and of which he afterward died. 

Wynn Dixon, the son of Henry Dixon, and the father of 
the subject of this memoir, entered the army at the age of six- 
teen, as an ensign ; and for his gallant conduct and soldier-like 
bearing in the battles of Camden, Eutaw and Guilford Court- 
house, was promoted to the rank of lieutenant, and served 
during the war. 

Mr. Dixon's mother was the daughter of David Hart, ot 
North Carolina, and the niece of Colonel Thomas Hart, of Lex- 
ington, Kentucky, whose daughter is the wife of Hon. Henry 
Clay. Wynn Dixon emigrated to Henderson County, Kentucky, 
with his son, Archibald, in the year 1805, where he continued 
to reside until his death. He had once been wealthy, but in 
an unfortunate hour, becoming surety for his friend, he was re- 
duced from affluence to indigence ; and he was unable to do 
more for his son than to afford him a plain English education, 
such as was to be obtained in the neighborhood county schools. 
But it is not in the power of "circumstances to depress the ener- 
gies of a man who is determined to rise. Poverty and misfor- 
tune may delay, but can not prevent his ultimate success. 

Mr. Dixon made good use of the few opportunities at his 
command ; and, though without that intellectual cultivation 
which is rarely to be acquired except within college walls, and 
which seems absolutely necessary with ordinary minds to smooth 
the pathway to professional eminence, at the early age of twenty 
entered upon the study of the law. 

His preceptor was Mr. James Hillyer, a gentleman of good 
legal attainments, and who possessed many excellent and noble 
qualities. With the use of a good library, and an occasional 
hint from Mr. Hillyer, Mr. Dixon made rapid progress in his 
studies. His whole heart was in the work. His days and nights 
were devoted to the prosecution of a science which, to a begin- 
ner, seems to be made up of recondite principles and dry details. 
Pleasure was forgotten ; amusement was disregarded. He had 
no time to loiter by the way. He was not only inspired by am- 
bition, but urged by poverty. He worked not for fame only, 
but for bread, 



156 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

At the age of twenty-two he had made sufficient progress 
in his studies to justify his admission to the bar. Immediately 
on obtaining his license, he entered upon the practice of his 
profession. At this period the " state of his finances" was low 
indeed. He wanted even the means to purchase a suit of clothes 
to appear in a decent garb among his fellow - members at the 
bar. This, however, was the last mortification of a pecuniary 
kind to which he was subjected. His acknowledged talents, 
energy and business habits, soon placed him beyond the reach 
of want. His business rapidly increased. In a short time his 
reputation as a sound lawyer and eloquent advocate was estab- 
lished; and he had the satisfaction to find himself employed in 
all the important cases in the circuit, 

In the Western States the connection between law and 
politics is so intimate, that is next to impossible for a lawyer 
who possesses a talent for public speaking, to avoid participat- 
ing in the excitine discussions of the day. If his own ambition 
does not impel him to take the lead, the importunities of his 
personal and political friends will force him into a prominent 
position. 

Accordingly, we find Mr. Dixon, in the Summer of 1830, 
called upon by his fellow-citizens of the county of Henderson, 
to represent them in the popular branch of the Legislature, 
His course, during the session which he served, was marked by 
his usual industry and talent Among other reforms which he 
advocated, was a bill for the better protection of the rights of 
married women, which, though unsuccessful at the time, has 
since been adopted in its most important features, and become 
one of the most popular laws of the State. From this time 
until 1836 he devoted himself exclusively to the practice of his 
profession, which had now become not only extensive but lucra- 
tive. The reward of his early toils and resolute self-denial, 
when both necessity and ambition impelled him to " shun de- 
lights and live laborious days " was in his hands. He had 
obtained what my Lord Bacon calls the " vantage ground of 
jurisprudence." It was not his place now to wait for clients, 
but for clients to wait for him. 

In 1836 Mr. Dixon was elected to represent the counties 
of Henderson, Hopkins and Daviess, in the Senate. In 1841 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 157 

he was again elected to the Legislature from the county of Hen- 
derson, without opposition. In 1843 he was nominated by the 
Whig convention of Kentucky for the office of Lieutenant-Gov- 
ernor, on the same ticket with Mr. Ousley, and was not only 
elected over his competitor by a triumphant majority, but far 
outran the gubernatorial candidate. Luring the canvass, his 
advocacy of the principles and measures of the "Whig party tvas 
unusually able — particularly his defence of our domestic manu- 
factures. The protective policy has never been so popular in 
the Southern States as in the more densely-populated districts 
of the North, where labor is cheap and capital is abundant. 

The interests of the people are not bound up in its success. 
Their means are not invested in manufactures but in agriculture, 
and it is a task of some difficulty to convince them that a mea- 
sure which apparently takes money out of their pockets can be 
just or expedient. Mr. Lixon, nevertheless, made the features 
of the American system occupy the most important place in his 
discussions, and the manner in which he treated the subject was 
so able, and his arguments so convincing, that he obtained the 
greatest applause from all quarters except the ranks of the op- 
position ; and we think ourselves justifiable in saying, that he 
succeeded in establishing this most important policy upon a 
much more secure and permanent basis than it had hitherto oc" 
cupied in Kentucky. Luring the next four years he was ex- 
officio President of the Senate, and in the difficult and often 
perplexing duties of his position he had the pleasure of giving 
universal satisfaction to both parties, Ever present at his post, 
the promptitude of his decisions was only equaled by their in- 
flexible justice. In 1848 he was preferred by a majority of the 
Whig party for the office of Governor ; and, but for the unyield- 
ing opposition of the friends of the opposing candidates, would 
have received the nomination at the hands of the convention. 
Being satisfied that the excitement of feeling which existed in 
the two sections of the party would materially impair its effi- 
ciency in the approaching gubernatorial and presidential con- 
tests, he did not hesitate to sacrifice his personal ambition for 
the good of the Whig cause ; and Mr, Crittenden being placed 
in nomination, he instructed his friends to withdraw his name. 
The year 1849 was a period of great political excitement 



158 Evan&ville and its Men of Mark. 

throughout the State. A constitutional convention was about 
to assemble for the reformation of the organic law, and many 
new and highly important questions were presented to the con- 
sideration of the people. Among these, not the least interest- 
ing, was a proposition for the gradual emancipation of the slave 
population. This measure was advocated by several highly 
distinguished persons, and though there was scarcely a proba- 
bility of its immediate success, yet the mere agitation of the 
question was deemed by Mr. Dixon impolitic and dangerous. 
The shock which it might give to the stability and security of 
sixty millions of property would, in his opinion, more than 
counterbalance any remote and doubtful advantage which could 
possibly accrue from the discussion of so delicate a subject. He 
accordingly opposed and denounced it with all the energy and 
vehemence of his nature. Being chosen, without opposition, a 
member of the convention, he brought forward the following 
resolution, which he sustained with marked ability, and which, 
in substance, was finally incorporated into the constitution : 

" Whereas, The right of the citizen to be secure in his per- 
son and property is not only guaranteed by all free govern- 
ments, but lies at the very foundation of them ; and whereas, 
the powers derived to this convention, immediately and collect- 
ively, are distinctly from the people ; and, although not expressed 
are implied, and that among them is the power so to change the 
constitution of the State as to afford a more ample protection 
to the civil and religious rights of the citizen, but not destroy 
them ; and whereas, the slaves of citizens of this commonwealth 
are property, both those that are now in esse, and those hereafter 
born of mothers who may be slaves at the time of such birth ; 
therefore, 

"Resolved, That this Convention has not the power or right 
by any principle it may incorporate into the constitution of the 
State, to deprive the citizen of his property, without his consent, 
unless it be for the public good, and only then by making to 
him a just compensation therefor." 

As a specimen of the style of Mr. Dixon we insert the fol- 
lowing extract from the speech which he delivered when the 
above resolution was brought up for discussion : 

" But my friend from Nelson maintains another proposition 
and I intend to call attention to it now. Yes ; it is a strange 
proposition, and that is, that all the right we have to our slave 
population is derived from the constitution and laws of the 



iZvansville and its Men of Mark. 159 

State. If the gentleman would but look back to the history of 
the acquisition of titles to slave property, he would find there 
a refutation of his whole position. How did we originally ac- 
quire any title to slave property in this country ? If he will 
look back as far as 1620, he will find that the very first slaves 
were brought to Virginia, in that year, in a Dutch vessel. If 
he will look back not quite so far, that charters were granted 
by Queen Elizabeth to certain companies, empowering them to 
go to Africa and possess themselves of slaves, and bring them 
to the then colonies of North America. He will find that they 
were permitted to go, and that many went without any permis- 
sion at all. Well ; when they went there, what did they do ? 
They acquired the property ; they captured or purchased the 
negroes ; they exercised their manual strength and labor in ac- 
quiring the possession of that property ; they became owners 
by occupation, or by purchase — a way of acquiring property 
that gentlemen will readily understand. I say they became 
owners by occupation, as those gentlemen who have gone to 
California to dig gold. 

" There being no law to protect it, they became entitled to 
the gold from the very fact that they exercise manual labor to 
separate it from the earth in which it has been long imbedded. 
Law does not provide the right to the gold, and it does not pro- 
vide the right to capture and appropriate the slave. They had 
the gold without any law, and they have now called a conven- 
tion of gold-diggers and miners, and for what purpose ? To 
give them title to the gold ? Not at all ; they have that right 
now, but it is to give protection to those rights which they have 
acquired by occupancy. That is the object and design. To give 
them rights ? Not at all ; but the protection of the rights that 
now exist. Let us take this matter a little farther. I believe 
that when Kentucky separated from Virginia — or to go farther, 
that before any constitution was formed in the United States, 
the people of Virginia had their slaves, and they had a right to 
them. And when the act of separation was passed on 
the part of Virginia, allowing Kentucky to become a sepa- 
rate State — when she separated herself and threw herself back 
on first principles, and declared her sovereignty in the act of 
establishing organic law, her citizens then had this right of pro- 
perty in slaves. Those rights of property, therefore, were not 
derived from the laws of Virginia, or from the constitution of 
1792 or 1799 ; they existed prior to, and independent of those 
laws. They existed because they were rights clearly acquired 
from those who first acquired the slaves, and which had come 
down to their descendants by descent, or which had been trans- 
ferred by purchase. Thus were these rights existing prior to 
the adoption of any organic law. But at this particular period 



160 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

of time, when all things are thrown back to their original ele- 
ments, and all permitted to express their opinions and views on 
all and every question, a strange proposition is springing up in 
the midst of our excited countrymen. What is it? One says 
to another, you have no right to all that land of yours ; and 
another, you have no right to your negroes ; and another, you 
have no right to your strong box. It is a strange proposition 
springing up right here in the community. What will be the 
result of it? 

' 'Mr. C. A. Wickliffe. Does the gentleman mean to say 
that I advocate such doctrine on this floor ? If so, he is mis- 
taken. 

" Mr. Dixon. I mean that such is the effect of the gentle- 
man's proposition. I say that it is the true consequence of the 
doctrine advanced, that all power belongs to this convention, 
and that no right exists independent of the organic law it may 
make, or the statute laws which may be passed under it. I say, 
then, let us go back to the state of society I have mentioned to 
the gentleman. Let the proposition be made and proclaimed 
to the people of Kentucky, that prior to the adoption of their 
constitution, the right to property does not exist, and what 
would be the condition of every member of society ? The very 
assumption of the principle would be looked upon as a violation 
of every principle of right which lies at the foundation of every 
free government. 

" Well, our title to our slaves is not derived from Virginia, 
or from the constitution or statute laws of Kentucky, but it is 
derived in the manner which I have represented. We come, 
then, to the formation of our present constitution. What shall 
we do here ? We intend to unite in framing a constitution that 
will protect, not destroy ; to build up, and not to pull down ; 
to throw the aegis of our protection around the rights of the cit- 
izen, and not to put in the hands of the incendiary a torch to 
consume or a sword to destroy and murder. This convention 
has no such power. And if such a power can exist, if it is to 
be proclaimed here that fifty-one men in this convention have 
the right to seize on the property, should they see proper to do 
it, then away with the rights of the people ! If this is not 
radicalism, the rank old agrarianism, starting up here as from 
the very floors of the old Roman Senate, shaking his gory locks 
at us, it is very like it. I will say to it, " Thou canst not say 
I did it ; " but I will say, also, it is yuu, and you, who proclaim 
such doctrines, who did it. And where is this thing to stop? 
Who can tell what a people may do hereafter, and what a ma- 
jority may favor hereafter — where is it to stop ? I said the 
other day, when it is once admitted that a mere majority has 
the right and the power to seize upon the property of the peo- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 161 

pie and to appropriate it to such use as they may think proper, 
there is no longer any safety in society. You have but to pro- 
claim to all the vagabond population of the world that they 
have only to become citizens of Kentucky, and a majority, in 
order to seize upon the property of our citizens and appropriate 
it as they think proper ; you have but to call upon the wild 
spirits that inhabit the free States and the great cities, the 
skulking vagabond population, who only seek an opportunity 
for plunder and murder ; you have but to call upon those people 
of other countries who have been expatriated from their own 
lands by the laws, and who are driven from necessity to violence 
and outrage on those who are better off; you have but to call 
upon these classes to come to Kentucky, and to assert the rights 
of a citizen, and obtain the privilege of voting, and what would 
be the result? They would pour in upon us as did the Goth 
and Vandal barbarians upon the Roman territory ; they would 
come, as did the Huns under the lead of Atilla, sweeping be- 
fore them, as with a whirlwind of desolation, all the great insti- 
tutions of the country, and monopolizing all its property. They 
would rally around some great leader, like that " scourge of 
nations " and destroyer of civil institutions, who looked back 
on the desolation he had left, and forward on the beauty that 
was spread before him, and like that conqueror exclaim : " I look 
ahead and all is beautiful, all is cheering to my eyes and hopes. 
I look behind, and my track is marked in ashes and blood. 
Desolation spreads itself in my rear, and the beauties of civiliz- 
ation wither at my approach." And your beautiful land of 
Kentucky — this fair garden of the United States — this spot 
where poets delight to dwell, and the statesman and hero 
delight to linger — this great Kentucky of ours, so glorious in 
the memory of the past, and so bright in the vista of the future 
— it is to become like the plains of Italy ; it is to be scourged 
by those who come, like the Goths and Vandals, and Huns 
under Atilla, scattering ruin and waste through our land. I 
never will subscribe to such a doctrine, or agree that fifty-one 
men shall be armed with the sovereign power of seizing on my 
life, liberty, or property, and appropriating it to their own use, 
in violation of the great principle which lies at the foundation 
of all free governments." 

The firm and resolute course pursued by Mr. Dixon on the 
slave question, as may naturally be supposed, had no tendency 
to increase his popularity with the emancipationists. Having 
receive the nomination for Governor in 1851, their influence and 
suffrages, with but few exceptions, were withheld from him, and 
as an immense majority of them were Whigs, his election was 
thereby defeated. His vote, however, was larger than that of 

21 



162 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

any other Whig candidate who had previously aspired to the 
office. The emancipation candidate, Mr. Cassius M. Clay, run 
both as a Whig and an emancipationist. 

Some time before the nomination was conferred upon Mr. 
Dixon, he became satisfied that his election was impossible, and 
addressed a letter to his fellow-citizens of Kentucky, withdraw- 
ing his name from all connection with the office, assigning his 
reasons for the course which he pursued, and calling on the con- 
vention to select some other standard-bearer, who would be able 
to unite both the emancipationists and the old Whigs. But 
against his own better judgment, and in opposition to his remon- 
strances, his friends in the convention, who constituted a large 
majority, determined upon his nomination. With the conscious- 
ness that he was leading a forlorn hope ; nay that it was almost 
absolutely impossible that he should be elected, his ardor was 
not damped, " nor his natural force abated." He was still 
found in the fore front of battle striking bold strokes himself, 
and urging on his party to the contest. It was a period not 
only of great interest to the domestic politics of Kentucky, but 
of intense political excitement throughout the country. Two 
great parties at the North and the South were set against each 
other in hostile array. " The imprisoned winds were let loose. 
Tne East, the North, and the stormy South, combined to throw 
the whole ocean into commotion, to toss its billows to the skies, 
and disclose its profoundest depths." It is hardly necessary to 
say that Mr. Dixon was not found among the number of those 
who lent their influence to add to the fury of the storm. Eve- 
rywhere, throughout the whole State, his voice was heard, 
trumpet-toned, in the defence of the Union, and deprecating, 
as the most terrible of calamities, its dissolution and destruc- 
tion. While those giants of intellect, Mr. Webster and Mr. 
Clay, were defending it at the capital, their hands were upheld 
and the position which they occupied made secure, by the able 
and patriotic efforts of such men as Mr. Dixon among the peo- 
ple. From every speaker's stand in Kentucky his eloquent 
voice was heard calling upon the people to stand by the institu- 
tions of their fathers, and maintain the integrity of the Union 
against the insidious attacks of Northern abolitionists, and the 
more violent and furious onslaughts of Southern seceders. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 163 

Those spirit-stirring appeals were not lost. They were not 
thrown away upon listless ears. The people of Kentucky, we 
assert boldly, have more true loyalty of feeling, and deep, un- 
selfish, patriotic affection and admiration for the Republic than 
those of any other State. These patriotic sentiments Mr, Dixon 
by his bold and manly eloquence, awakened into activity at a 
time when the expression of such sentiments on the part of the 
masses was necessary to sustain the course of the great states- 
men, who stood like faithful pilots at the helm, and finally suc- 
ceeded in weathering the storm. He spoke not for his own 
election merely, nor for the success of the Whig party, but for 
the Union. 

The gubernatorial campaign, as he had anticipated and 
predicted, resulted in his defeat by a small majority. But the 
emancipation party, though it possessed a sufficient number of 
votes to control the election, before the people, on account of 
the almost equal division of the State between the "Whigs and 
Democrats, did not possess the same commanding power in the 
Legislature, and the immense majority who coincided with Mr. 
Dixon on the subject of slavery, determined to reward his tal- 
ents and fidelity with- a seat in the United States Senate. He 
was opposed, however, by the whole emancipation influence 
in the contest which ensued for this high office, and was run 
against nearly every prominent Whig in the State, Mr. Critten- 
den included. A caucus having at last been called ior the pur- 
pose of deciding the claims of the respective candidates, it was 
found that Mr. Crittenden and Mr. Dixon were the only compe- 
titors. The. friends of Mr. Dixon claimed a majority of two, 
but the adherents of Mr. Crittenden remaining firm or obsti- 
nate, as the apoligists of either side may prefer, Mr. Dison 
consented, for the sake of harmony in the Whig party, that his 
own name should be withdrawn, in connection with the with- 
drawal of that of Mr. Crittenden. It being anticipated, how- 
ever, that a vacancy in the Senate might soon occur, the friends 
of Mr. Dixon still adhered to him, resolved upon his ultimate 
success, and in a short time the resignation of Mr, Clay again 
called upon the Legislature of Kentucky to choose a represent- 
ative to fill the unexpired term of that great man. . The name 
of Mr. Dixon was immediately presented to the two houses of 



164 Evansvilte and its Men of Mark. 

the legislative body for their suffrages, and in opposition to it 
those of many other prominent and distinguished Whigs-, but 
after a few ballotings his election was carried without difficulty. 
He took his seat in that illustrious body, which had so long 
been adorned by the most brilliant talents of the nation, on the 
first Monday in December, 1852. 

The person of Mr. Dixon is tall and slender, but erect and 
commanding. His features are regular, and their combined ex. 
pression stern but vivacious. The style of his oratory is bold, 
vigorous, and highly impassioned. In his conduct at the bar 
he employs his whole mind and soul, every thought, feeling and 
sentiment, in his cause. During the progress of the trial, the 
court, the jury, and the witnesses, constitute the whole world 
to him. All beyond that little circle, which is hemmed in by 
the iron rails of the bar, is forgotten ; but not the slightest cir- 
cumstance which occurs within that circle is disregarded. 
These qualities, so invaluable in a lawyer, could not have failed 
to secure him the most abundant success in his profession. 
From the outset of his career, he has steadily advanced in for- 
tune and reputation. 

As a criminal lawyer, his success has been unusual, and 
almost unprecedented. If he is more at home in any one 
branch of his profession than another, it is in this. His peculiar 
style of oratory is perhaps better suited to it. In the solemnity 
of such an occasion, when the life of a human being hangs upon 
the opinion of a jury of twelve men, when the audience is silent 
from the intense interest which is always excited by the impor- 
tance of the proceedings, it is then that his talent, as a forensic 
speaker, displays itsell in its full force and brilliancy. If you 
were not certain that he is the master of his subject you might 
suppose that his subject was the master of him, so completely 
does he appear to be absorbed in the cause of his client, His 
voice rises to the highest pitch, or descends to the deepest tone 
of solemnity. His eye flashes with enthusiasm, the muscles of 
his face work with the energy of his feelings, and the violence 
of his gesticulation convinces that the whole soul of the orator 
is awakened and aroused. Nor does his spirit flag, or the vigor 
of his declamation abate, until he has thoroughly weighed and 
investigated every point in his cause, and awakened every sen- 



Hvansville and its Men of Mark. 165 

timent of humanity that may exist in the bosoms of the jury. 
His masterly conduct of this class of cases has become so well 
known and universally acknowledged, that his services are al- 
most invariably secured when it it possible for him to be pres- 
ent at the treal. 

In politics, Mr. Dixon is a decided Whig, and has ever 
supported the principles of the Whig party with undeviating 
consistency. An ardent admirer and devoted friend of Mr. 
Clay, he has steadily advocated the national policy of that 
illustrious statesman, and yielded him his warmest support. In 
heart and soul an advocate for the union of the States, the late 
brilliant efforts of the " Great Pacificator " "were contemplated 
by him with satisfaction and delight. He is for the compromise 
as it stands, without the slightest abatement or reservation, as 
a final settlement of those alarming questions which have so 
long agitated the country. He has at all times supported by 
his voice and by his influence a judicious system of public 
schools ; a subject on which too little attention has been hith- 
erto bestowed in Kentucky. Having been poor himself, and 
risen by his own unaided efforts from the ranks, Mr. Dixon 
knows well how to sympathize with the feelings and wants of 
this class of his fellow-citizens, and he has always found them 
his firmest and most reliable adherents in the various contests 
through which he has passed. On his part, at every period 
of his life, he has given his faithful and energetic support to 
those measures which were calculated to elevate their condition. 
On the various political questions which have occupied the at- 
tention of the country for the last quarter of a century, he has 
expressed himself with freedom and boldness, but it must be 
confessed that he has not at all times profited by his candor. 
As a man and citizen, his character is above reproach. Devot- 
edly beloved by his friends, his unsullied honor and unbending 
integrity have obtained for him the respect of all. His course 
of life from the commencement of his professional career, has 
been in the main prosperous, and we may be permitted to ex- 
press the hope and expectation that he will gather fresh laurels 
in his new field of exertion. 

Mr. Dixon was elected to the United States Senate to fill 
the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of Henry Clay, and 



166 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

in that capacity proved an able successor to that illustrious 
statesman. 

As a friend of Evansville, in the past as well as in the 
present, the old citizens of this city can testify as to his efforts 
at the time of the great Canal excitement and other enterprises- 



Joshua B. Bowles. 



[Review— 1853.1 



JpljLoSHUA B. BOWLES was born in Albemarle County, 
^4gk Virginia, 1795. The circumstances of his father pre- 
venting a more liberal education, he obtained such a one as was 
usually . afforded by those country schools at that early period 
of our history whose highest range of studies would scarcely 
comprise the initiatory course of the present. Here he was dis- 
tinguished by the rapid progress which he made in his studies, 
and his quick apprehension. Such was the love and admiration 
engendered in the heart of his preceptor toward his pupil, that 
a few years since he came many miles to see him, though far 
advanced in years, and gloried in the realization of the proph- 
ecy which he had made, while his tutor, that " Joshua would 
make for himself a name if he lived." At an early age he ac- 
companied his father, who was of a roving disposition, on an 
excursion " to the West," then, as now, the " cynosure of neigh- 
boring eyes." After many wanderings and hair-breadth 
escapes, they arrived, in 1814, in Charlestown, Indiana. His 
father's habits having become unsatisfactory to the son, called 
forth many filial expostulations from him ; but finding these 
unavailing, and that a longer stay could not benefit the former, 
and would be detrimental to his own interests, he determined 
to leave him, though his heart still glowed with the warmest 
filial instincts. Nor has he ever failed in all the duties incum- 
bent upon him as a son or relative. And now, without a friend 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 167 

to advise him, and with, no patrimony but a sound intellect 
which was his by birthright, and high moral principles which 
he had early imbibed, together with a firm dependence on the 
Supreme Giver of all Good, we behold him at the early age of 
eighteen fully accoutred for the warfare which the combatant 
on life's busy field of action must ever wage when in pursuit of 
an object unattainable, unless he resolve at the onset that no 
obstacles shall overcome his exertions, no impediments be 
deememed insurmountable, the word " I can't " be erased from 
his vocabulary, and bis word be ever " onward." A company 
of rangers, who were sent out by the general Government, des- 
tined for the Western frontier of the then territory of Indiana, 
having at this time arrived in Charlestown, he accepted the in- 
vitation of the captain to accompany him as trader at the post. 
These were troublous times indeed, when the border warfare 
was carried on with the most unrelenting cruelty by the untu- 
tored savages on the one hand and on the other by passions 
scarcely less malignant by the boasted civilized white man. Life 
and property had become so insecure, that many of these com- 
panies were sent out to protect the inhabitants of these thinly 
populated regions. They were allowed to establish trading 
houses for the supply of the wants of the soldiery and friendly 
Inndians in the vicinity. On their arrival at the place of ren- 
dezvous, our young friend lost no time in getting to business. 
His little store was soon opened, and the Delawares and other 
tribes amicably disposed brought their furs and peltries, and in 
return received such goods as they could procure of him, and 
the soldiers were credited until their service money became due. 
This was an important office for a youth to perform, as much 
responsibility devolved upon him. It required strict attention 
to duties and a discriminating judgment to know whom to trust 
and how far to extend credit to so reckless and prodigal a class 
as those he was now dealing with. But he happily accomplished 
what he had undertaken, and at the expiration of the term 
found himself fully prepared to settle up accounts to the satis- 
faction of all concerned. On his return to Charlestown, he 
found that his father had joined the army during his absence, 
For a small salary he became clerk and salesman for Judge 
Shelby, of that place, who, in addition to his office of judge, 



168 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

added those of tavern-keeper and dry-goods merchant. But he 
soon found their united exertions did not prove very profitable ; 
and at the end of two years he resolved on seeking a larger 
sphere of action. 

In pursuance of this object, he came to Louisville, Ken- 
tucky, in the month of January, 1816. The beautiful city of 
that name which now stands unequaled by any city in the val- 
ley of the Ohio or Mississippi for the salubriousness of its cli- 
mate, the beauty of its situation, and the unparalleled 
commercial advantages which she possesses, as being the head 
of navigation for boats of largest class, was at that time re- 
tarded in its progress by its unhealthfulness. Situated in the 
midst of swamps and marshes whose poisonous miasms and pes- 
tilential exhalations, under the form of typhoid and bilious 
fevers, sent their scores of victims to the grave, it required 
some degree of courage to take up a residence there permanently 
But with that penetration for which he has ever been distin- 
guished, he foresaw its future importance, and at once deter- 
mined to locate himself there, trusting to his habits of temper- 
ance and cautiousness in diet to ward off the fell destroyers. 
Yes, Death had indeed entered the field, and was reaping a rich 
harvest among the dying, and binding the cords of sorrow 
around the hearts of the living; and one of weaker nerve and 
purpose might have faltered at the threshold, but his decision 
had been made ; and then at the outset, as well as at all subse- 
quent periods of his active life, when his judgment has fully 
confirmed what reason dictated as the course proper to be pur- 
sued, he has ever followed it with unswerving steadfastness. 

Now, we well know that this principle may be much 
abused, and under the form of decision of character, an obsti- 
nate, blind adherence to preconceived opinions, founded on a 
false basis, may be the cause of much evil in the world ; but 
much the same mode of reasoning may be applied to all the 
attributes of greatness when they are possessed by those who 
have not, as their results prove, a well-regulated mind. 

But to resume : Not one familiar face greeted him. A 
stranger unknowing and unknown, he walked the streets of the 
dismal city from " morn to dewey eve," endeavoring to find 
employment. But did he falter ? No. The bright star of 



Evansvitle and its Men of Mark. 169 

hope was ever in the ascendant, and whispering him words of 
comfort and cheer, that the industrious and persevering would 
always find their efforts crowned with success in the end. Wea- 
ried at length of this means of attaining that end, he walked 
into a hotel, kept by a Major Taylor, and presented himself be- 
fore him. After some questions and answers had been passed 
between them, " My business will not warrant me in taking 
you, sir," said the host, " as I could not afford to pay you any- 
thing." " 1 want no pay, sir," was the prompt reply of the in- 
domitable suitor, " and I will stay a few days with you anyhow." 
The old major, gazing upon that open, manly brow, which it 
needed not the skill of a professional physiognomist to deter- 
mine was the index of an honest heart, smiled his assent to this 
proposition. Now, we might suppose, on a superficial view, that 
these conditions were not very favorable to our young friend, 
but he soon commenced operations on such a scale as to show 
that he was fully competent to any emergency. " Mine host," 
a merry, jovial soul, who took no thought for the morrow, was 
one of those who, after spending a fortune in the pursuit of 
pleasure while young, are forced in old age to resort to some 
means for obtaining support. He hailed from the Old Domin- 
ion many years before, with the wreck of his possessions, accom- 
panied by his wife, who was as thriftless as himself. He had a 
kindly greeting for all who patronized him, and provided they 
could tell a good story and produce merry peals of laughter, 
their accounts were not very strictly scrutinized, But a change 
soon became apparent in every department, and order was 
brought out of chaos by the vigilance of our young friend. He 
soon found himself at the head of affairs. No part escaped his 
ever watchful eye. From the highest to the lowest offices of 
the establishment, he was ever ready to lend a helping hand or 
exert a salutary supervision. The books, too, were overhauled. 
Accounts which had grown mouldy with age were brushed up 
and presented for payment to the astonished creditors, who had 
fondly hoped they had taken " that sleep from which there is no 
waking." Moneys, too, lent in bygone years, and which had 
long since ceased to live in the memory department of the good- 
natured proprietor, or who had, from his want of courage to 
enforce his demand, yielded their claims to his sympathy, were 
22 



170 Evansville and its Men of Mark, 

exhumed from their burial-place, and stared once more in living 
characters before the visions of those who had thus taken ad- 
vantage of the easy temperament of their creditor. Among 
many others who were witnesses of the revolution effected by 
him in the affairs of the major, was James McCrum, a highly 
respectable hardware merchant of the place, who boarded at 
the hotel. He was struck by this admirable conduct of our 
young friend, and showed the interest with which he regarded 
him by giving him the hand of friendship, and by many of those 
little acts of courtesy which too many of those who are im- 
mersed in business and enveloped in its mazy folds fail to be- 
stow, but which when freely proffered bind together with 
blessed links the brotherhood of mankind. And here might it 
not be deemed flattery to eulogize the living, we might be 
tempted to say much in commendation of this gentleman, who, 
prompted by the generous impulses of a truly noblo soul, showed 
so deep an interest in the welfare of this youth, and recognized 
in this indefatigable industry and untiring efforts in the per- 
formance of his duties, the germs of a comprehensive mind and 
that business tact so eminently developed in after years. 

With what satisfaction must this gentleman, now declining 
in the vale of life, look back to that period when he cheered our 
young friend onward in the course he was pursuing, and ten- 
dered him that friendship and confidence which the lapse of 
many years has but tended to cement more firmly ! We can 
scarcely appreciate to its full extent the influence which it is in 
the power of those to exert, who, having themselves escaped the 
shoals and quicksands which beset their path in youth, find that 
they are safely harbored in the stream of the wise and good of 
the community in which they dwell. These are beacons stand- 
aloft on the coastways of existence, cheering by their light 
the inexperienced navigator, who spreads his canvas to the 
breeze, determined to secure a like safe anchorage, or a warning 
ing to others to escape the fatal Scylla and Chary bdis which 
they so happily escaped, but in whose vortex so many " youth 
of promise fair " have been decoyed to their irretrievable ruin. 
Four months had scarcely elapsed since our young friend's ar- 
rival at the hotel, when Mr. McCrum offered him a situation as 
salesman in his store. To this with pleasure he consented, not- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 171 

withstanding the entreaties and expostulations of the major and 
his wife, who, finding these unavailing, resorted to tears and 
every inducement which they could offer to change his deter- 
mination. But he had decided ; and in a few days we find him 
" at home " in his new vocation, more than fulfilling the expect- 
ations of his employer. Tne same habits which had marked 
his previous course were still pursued. Early in the morning 
while the city was still buried in slumber, he might have been 
seen putting things in the neatest order, placing his wares in 
the most favorable position for the attraction of customers, and 
making arrangements for the business of the day. 

In after life he was frequently heard to say, '• My success 
in business I attribute mainly to this habit of early rising. 
After I commenced the wholesale dry goods business especially, 
it was of the greatest importance to be up and on the lookout 
for strangers, who generally rise early to view the localities, etc. 
Often have I, while in their slippers, their boots undergoing 
the process of blacking — introduced myself to them while 
standing in my door, as they walked the pavement in front of 
the hotel near which my store was situated. Such a one, after 
the morning's salutation, I would ask to walk in, view my goods, 
etc. After breakfast, being booted and ready for makirjg pur- 
chases, he calls again ; I sell him, perhaps, several boxes of 
goods, the seller's name being marked on one corner. He goes 
home ; the name attracts the attention of other merchants in 
the vicinity. Through him they are introduced to the whole- 
sale dealer, and thus I have acquired the trade of whole vil- 
lages. 

Mr. McCrum left home a few months after Mr. Bowles' 
engagement with him, and entrusted the latter with the sole 
direction and guidance of his business concerns during his 
absence. The responsibility thus devolved upon Mr. B. was 
great. But his untiring exertions, both mental and physical, 
kept pace with the occasions that called them forth ; and on Mr. 
McCrum's return, after an absence of tbree or four months, he 
so well appreciated the manner in which his affairs had been 
managed, that he proffered him a stock of hardware to com- 
mence business on his own account. Deeply grateful for such a 
disinterested manifestation of friendship, Mr. Bowles accepted 



172 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

the proposition ; but concluded, before putting it into execution 
that he would visit his relatives in Virginia, as he had not seen 
them since leaving there in childhood. With a few hundred 
dollars which he had saved from hit salaries, he left Louisville 
for that purpose, and spent two months in the delightful en- 
dearments of home, to which he had so long been a stranger. 

He returned in the Fall of 18 — . Mr. McCrum, whose 
heath had been precarious for some time past, and who wished 
to settle up accounts abroad, collect debts, etc., now offered Mr. 
Bowles, on his return from Virginia, the entire stock of mer- 
chandise, together with the stand which he then occupied. The 
purchase was made ; credit to extend from three to fifteen 
months. Success crowned his efforts, and he was enabled to 
make a payment of seven thousand dollars within the first 
twelve months. At this time the difficulties in the financial 
world were almost unprecedented. The wars which hail so 
long desolated Europe had tended to banish gold and silver as 
a medium of exchange. The ordinary channels of commerce 
had been dried up. Not only those who had sowed the wind 
now reaped the whirlwind, but its ruinous consequences were 
felt by the whole civilized world. The inflated paper currency 
which had accumulated to an enormous extent was now reduced 
to its nominal value. With the return of peace commerce re- 
vived, and the metalic basis attained its lawful place in the 
monetary world Europe, blessed with the genial sunshine of 
peace, endeavored by the pursuits of active industry to make 
reparation for the long night of darkness which it had been her 
melancholy lot to endure. Things were now tending to an 
equilibrium. Our commodities which had attained a false value 
sank to their real value. Bankruptcy and ruin were the inev- 
itable result. Relief measures were projected by the Legisla- 
ture of the State. That of Kentucky established forty-two 
independent banks, without a specie basis or safeguards to pro- 
tect the community from the disastrous effects of a redundant 
paper currency ; the object being to enable the debtor to pay 
his debts, the creditor being obliged to receive this irredeem- 
able paper in payment for those contracted. The Legislature 
followed up their mistaken system of relief by various succes- 
sive laws. Replevin, valuation and stay laws were enacted, but 







*■£ C. /?. O. A/ O. "3S— s^S 



City High School House. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 173 

all to no purpose. In the moral as well as the physical world, 
where there is a radical error, it must be expunged ere the dis- 
ease can be eradicated. The bubble soon exploded, and those 
who had foreseen how this state of things must terminate, and 
had taken advantage of their more sapient neighbors by specu- 
lation in lands, etc., now urged their claims on their hapless 
victims. To meet their views the replevin law was extended. 
Then the Bank of the Commonwealth was chartered. The first 
issue of its notes were at a discount of 10 per cent,, and soon 
went down to 50 per cent., for several years ranging from 45 to 
60 per cent. The pressure was overwhelming. It seemed as 
though the barriers which society had interposed for the good 
of all were about to be overleaped. The better feelings of the 
moral part of the community prevailed, however, and parties 
became divided under the names of Relief and Anti-relief par- 
ties. These were afterward merged into the New and Old 
Court parties, and these for several years continued to convulse 
the body corporate to a degree which we of the present can 
scarcely realize ; living, as we do, at an era when our moneyed 
institutions are the pride and boast of the sons of Kentucky, 
their structures being reared on so solid a basis, that not all the 
sad calamities which have befallen the monetary concerns of the 
country in later days have been able to prostrate her credit in 
the commercial world. 

In 1825 the moral sentiment had undergone so decided a 
change for the better, that the obnoxious measures were re- 
pealed. The eminent judges who had been displaced by the 
dominant party of former years for their strict adhesion to con- 
stitutional restrictions, were now replaced by a large majority 
in the Legislature. 

We have thus given a hasty sketch of this period in our 
earlier history — " times indeed which tried men's souls, and 
showed what spirits they were of." Those men particularly 
who were engaged in mercantile pursuits, felt more sensibly 
than others each throb that agitated the public pulse ; and they 
who passed this fiery ordeal unscathed certainly " acted well 
their part." The temptation to speculate with funds so easily 
obtained had been so great, that the ordinary process of accu- 
mulating property by slow and industrial pursuits, were aban- 



174 Evansville and its Men of Mark, 

doned as too dull and tedious. The fruits of these ruinous 
proceedings were now to be reaped, and the harvest of misery 
and woe which resulted we will not pause to contemplate. 

Mr. Bowles, whose habits of close observation and just ap- 
preciation of men and things well qualified him to grapple with 
the times, saw the great upheaving of the storm which he had 
anticipated undismayed, and by prompt decision, strict adher- 
ence to fixed principles, and a judgment almost unerring in these 
matters, was enabled to maintain his position amid the convuls- 
ive throes which agitated the body politic. These qualifications 
which enabled him to analyze the character of the elements 
at work around him, and to stem the torrent as it approached. 
His maxim had ever been to " mind his own business," and 
though we might suppose this homely phrase almost obsolete in 
these days, yet its application is as useful now as it then was. 
Though he might have amassed a fortune more readily, had he 
followed the general impulse, and speculated in lands, etc., at 
this time, yet he preferred the more certain path to its acquire- 
ment by a strict attention to the daily routine of duties. 

The man who adopts this as his line of conduct will more 
assuredly achieve a triumph than he whose mind is distracted 
by every fluctuating breeze. But though-not swayed from his 
pursuits as a merchant by the excitements of the day, yet has 
M. Bowles always considered it his duty as a good citizen to 
array himself on the side of order, and give whatever influence 
he might possess to its preservation. He has always been con- 
servative in his views, and consequently was one of the Old 
Court party during those struggles between the advocates of 
order and demagogism. 

We portrayed the unsettled state of things during the first 
years of his commercial life to show under what difficulties he 
labored ; yet he safely steered his course amid the contending 
elements, and by prudence averted the storm. Writing to his 
brother, who had emigrated to Tennessee, and was called by 
the public voice to become a candidate for the Legislature of 
that State, " Never," said he, " seek public offices which are 
opposed to your interests as a merchant. Leave them to those 
who have nothing to interfere, and distract their attentions 
from such pursuits. Your vocation as a merchant is incompat- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 175 

ible with that of a politician, and if you wish to pursue it suc- 
cessfully, give it your exclusive attention. Whether you succeed 
or not in your efforts, the confidence of the community in you 
as a merchant, which has hitherto so well sustained you, will 
be impaired. I like the maxim, 'Cobblers, stick to your last.' " 
The brother did not listen to these wise counsels, was elected 
and the result predicted was too soon verified. 

The Spring of 1825 found Mr. Bowles in a condition to 
enlarge his business, and he accordingly opened a wholesale dry 
goods house. Prior to this, however, his thoughts had been 
turned into another channel. In his efforts to obtain an inde- 
pendence, he had remained impervious to the attractions of the 
gentler sex. But there are moments when perchance the cita- 
del of the heart is not so strongly fortified as at others. At any 
rate, who that has arrived at years of maturity can say that he 
has never been subject to the sway of woman? It is curious 
how Cupid will wedge himself into the recesses of the human 
heart. As his arrow penetrates that fortress, the stern warrior 
becomes as docile as a child, and is disarmed of his prowess, 
the statesman, on " whose nod hung the destiny of nations," 
becomes the humble suppliant, The orator, who holds en- 
tranced the multitude, is struck dumb. The poet, who luxuri- 
ates in the ideal ; the practical man, who scorns the theorist, 
and laughs at the dreams of the poet — all, each in turn, suc- 
cumb at the summons of this little despot. 

The lady to whom our hero's heart yielded was Mary, the 
daughter of Bichard, and niece of General Winchester, whose 
military deeds, during the late war with Great Britain, in de- 
fence of his country, has caused his name to be enrolled in its 
historical annals. Endowed by nature "with the rarest beauty, 
combined with a sound intellect and amiable disposition, this 
lady was calculated not only to capture but to retain possession, 
and he looked forward to days of prolonged happiness with her 
to whom he was united. On the foreground nought is percep- 
tible on the- glowing canvas — love has woven but scenes of calm 
domestic enjoyment, varied by the beauteous tints reflected 
from the lustrous eyes of the cherub infant encircled by its 
mother's arms. But veiled from sight, the background — could 
we but penetrate the dismal gloom which hides it from our vis- 



176 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ion — would present a far different aspect. There stands the 
stern destroyer of all human hopes contemplating this scene of 
connubial felicity. Already the fatal aim is taken. Will he 
relent ? Ah, no ! that arrow may not miss its aim. The grim 
archer, " steady to his purpose," feels not remorse. The groans 
of the agonized husband, the prayers and tears of dearest rela- 
tives are alike ineffectual. He who gave has seen best in His 
wisdom to take away the idol, for on His altar alone would He 
have us sacrifice our affections. Afflictions affect us in various 
ways. Some sink under the infliction of such chastisements, 
and suffer unavailing regrets to sap the current of blessings 
still left them ; others, too forgetful of the sacred recollections 
entwined around the past, suffer the tomb to obliterate all trace 
of their existence, and hasten to utter fresh vows of love to 
another. Not thus with Mr. Bowles. Though the axe was laid 
to to the root of the heart's tendrils, yet he struggled for that 
resignation to the Divine will which can alone soothe the trou- 
bled spirit. In after life he has been called upon to endure 
repeated bereavements by death, Many children successively 
has it been his hard fate to follow to the grave ; and though 
nature will exact her tribute, and the seared heart recoil from 
contact with the world at such times, yet has he been enabled, 
by the goodness of God, to fulfill the duties incumbent upon 
him in active life. The many years of retirement from scenes 
of gayety attested the sincerity of the grief which the bereave- 
ment referred to above laid upon him, though to the careless 
observer he might have appeared entirely engrossed in his bus- 
iness. 

We have referred above to the triumph of the Old Court 
party in 1826. After so desperate a struggle it required some 
time for the fermentation to subside, but amid the inextricable 
confusion of such a crisis Mr. Bowles' business continued stea- 
dily to increase far beyond his anticipations. 

From 1828 to 1832 the great contest of State politics be- 
came merged into one of a more national character. The Old 
Court party, who had assumed the more appropriate title of 
National Republicans, and to which Mr. B. belonged, were now 
at issue with their old opponents, and the name of Harry Clay 
was the rallying signal around which the hopes of the patriot, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 177 

whether merchant, artisan, or those of professional character, 
clustered. Harry Clay! Kentucky's noblest son! — who can 
write, who can read that name without feeling the blood quicken 
every pulsation, as it vibrates through the veins ? Let us pause 
to contemplate this era, for the time itself seems identified with 
the name of him who was the embodiment of all excellence. 
The elections of '31, in which Clay was elected to the Senate of 
the United States, proved that the foul calumnies with which 
his enemies had endeavored to blacken his fair fame, had not 
impaired the confidence which his fellow citizens and those of 
the State at large reposed in him. The almost unparalleled 
love and admiration with which those of his own State regarded 
him, are among the brightest jewels that adorn his character • 
and throughout his long public career they never wavered in 
their attachment, freely confiding the interests of the State 
into his hands. In '32 the great question, whether the talents 
of the eminent civilian could outweigh the military deeds of 
the military hero of the sword, was to be decided. Fierce was 
the combat. But the dire slanders of which the envenomed 
shafts of the enemy had sped with malicious zeal from one end 
of the confederacy to the other had done their bidding, and the 
latter was triumphant. A train of evil consequences, " the end 
of which is not yet," we fear, was the result. But it is not our 
business to trace these. Local considerations demand our 
time and attention. In 1829 Mr. Bowles had married Grace, 
daughter of Thomas Shreve, a Quaker gentleman, who, in con- 
nection with his two brothers, had long occupied a conspicuous 
place as merchant in Alexandria, District of Columbia. The 
war of 1812 had numbered him among its many mercantile vic- 
tims ; and a large cotton factory, in which much of his capital 
had been invested, becoming unproductive, completed his ruin. 
He first removed to Trenton, New Jersey, but finding matters 
growing worse, he concluded to emigrate to Cincinnati, where, 
within two years from their arrival, the nuptials above referred 
to took place. Thomas H. Shreve, author of " Drayton " and 
many other publications in the different periodicals which ema- 
nated from the press some years ago, and of late years one of 
the principal editors of the Louisville Journal, which is well 
known throughout the Union for the ability and talent dis- 
played in its editorials, is brother to this lady. 23 



178 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

We resume our narrative. The replevin laws having been 
repealed, and the paper of the Bank of the Commonwealth 
having been burned by legislative authority, the dawning of a 
brighter day appeared. Thus reassured, business had resumed 
its wonted activity, and confidence was restored. But the elec- 
tion of '32 had caused another reaction. A bank of the United 
States at Louisville, and another at Lexington, had taken the 
place of those formerly in use. The dominant party, whose ob- 
ject it was to ruin the Bank of the United States, that they 
might, in its stead, form a multiplicity of those institutions, 
subservient to their own purposes, now carried their plans into 
execution with remorseless hands. The States had no alterna- 
tive but to establish local banks. In '32 Mr. Bowles was active, 
with many of the other leading men of the city, in obtaining a 
charter from the Legislature for the establishment of the Bank 
of Louisville. This was granted, and the bank went into ope- 
ration with a capital of $3,000,000. Mr. Bowles was chosen 
one of its directors at its commencement, and continued in that 
capacity until 1840, when he was elected president, which office 
he still continues to hold. The Legislature, at the session of 
1834, granted charters for the establishment of the Bank of 
Kentucky, and the Northern Bank in 1835. No institutions of 
the kind in the Union have maintained a more honorable stand- 
ing than those banks throughout the disastrous periods through 
which it has been their lot to pass. 

In 1837 the troubles consequent upon the destruction of 
the National Bank, caused an enormous multiplication of others 
in its stead, had reached their climax. The salutary check 
which it had imposed on the local banks was then withdrawn, 
and the country had become inundated with paper currency. 
This had produced its legitimate fruits. Past experience was 
no obstacle to the speculating spirit which again pervaded all 
classes. The nominal value which had been attached to com- 
modities was now reduced to its proper standard. Heavy debts 
had accumulated, and the creditor was unwilling to be reim- 
bursed with the spurious currency. At this crisis the Legisla 
ture of Kentucky legalized the suspension of the banks, not 
requiring them to resume specie payments. This act of forbear- 
ance was justly appreciated by the managers, who, by their 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 179 

v 

ability and strenuous exertions, resumed their liability after 
the lapse of little more than a year. But this was only a short 
interval of peace which preceded the second suspension. A 
perfect tornado burst in fury on the heads of numberless vic- 
tims, who had hoped they were beyond the reach of the fluctu- 
ations of the money market. Corporations which had weathered 
all previous storms now lost anchor, and were shipwrecked in 
the general ruin. At length the bankrupt bill was introduced 
into Congress. This, it was thought, would be a panacea for 
all their woes by those who were overwhelmed in debt ; but it 
was a law which told cruelly upon the interests of the hapless 
creditor. Great opposition was manifested, not only by these, 
but those also who feared the demoralizing effects of such a 
measure. Mr. Bowles, who was then President of the Chamber 
of Commerce in Louisville, united with his colleagues in a pro- 
test against the bankrupt law, which, for cogency of reasoning, 
and the solid arguments on which it was based, was admitted 
to be one of the most masterly documents which were presented 
at that session of Congress. Mr. B. was one of the few mer- 
chants who escaped bankruptcy in these perilous times, though 
his losses in so extensive a business as he was engaged in at that 
time were necessarily great. " Misfortunes seldom come alone." 
At the height of these monetary embarrassments, when our 
merchants felt their blood almost to stagnate within them the 
great fire occurred — a distinctive title to which it may well lay 
claim, as the fury of that devouring element has never raged 
to the same extent within our city either before or since. Two 
blocks of the finest and most commodious warehouses on Main 
street were consumed and a vast amount of goods destroyed. 
It started from a wholesale house adjoining the one which Mr. 
B. occupied, about the center of the square to the corner ; then 
crossed in an opposite direction, and burned down the principal 
part of that street, till it reached a house which Mr. B. had 
shortly before vacated. The congratulations of his acquaint- 
ances the next day were general. " Mr. Bowles, you are always 
in luck " — " You were certainly born under a lucky star." 
"They call me lucky," said he to his wife, " but I would rather 
attribute my escape to the means I used to insure my luck. I 
should have shared the same fate, probably, with my neighbors, 



180 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

4 

had I not used proper precautions to avert it. On arriving at 
the scene of the conflagration, I found the roof of my house in 
flames. Instead of throwing my doors open and having my 
goods pitched into the street, I hired several men to enter with 
me, and barred the door, stationing some one to see that no one 
entered by force. Blankets were plenty. We ascended to the 
roof, extinguished the flames, and then, by aid of water and 
blankets, we were able to arrest its further progress, and thus 
I saved my house and goods." 

But, though not losing in this way, yet he indirectly suf- 
fered loss. The Franklin Fire Insurance Company, of which 
he was President, had been chartered by the Legislature with 
a capital of $100,000, and he and his colleagues were at first 
apprehensive that their liabilities, which were largely involved 
in the recent calamity, would prove too heavy for their redemp- 
tion. But by strenuous exertions they paid up, and extricated 
themselves: with credit unimpaired. 

In 1837 the charter was obtained from the State Legisla- 
ture by the City Council, for the organization of a medical in- 
stitute in the city of Louisville. Mr. Bowles, with many 
others, were actively engaged in getting up this noble enter- 
prise, but to Dr. Caldwell it is mainly attributable. This gen- 
tleman, who is well known not only in this country but in 
Europe, for his superior talents and great literary attainments, 
seeing the great advantages which would accrue to the city 
from such an institution, was unremitting in his exertions in 
enlightening the public mind on the subject. At length the 
charter was obtained, and a noble edifice erected, which stands 
a monument to bis genius and perseverance. The Council ap- 
propriated $50,000 for the outlay. Since that time several 
acres have been set aside for a law university, high school, etc. 
Mr. Bowles was chosen one of the board of managers on its 
organization. The able body of men whom they have enlisted 
from different parts of the Union to fill the professorships 
reflect great credit upon those who selected them. 

Under the auspices of such men as Caldwell, Cobb, Flint, 
Yandell, Miller, Short, Gross, Silliman, etc , it has risen to its 
present pre-eminent station among the Western schools of med- 
icine, and few at the East have more commanding influence. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 181 

Commencing in 1838 with a class of eighty students, last Win- 
ter it numbered four hundred, and four thousand young men 
have attended the course of instruction within its walls. 

Mr. Bowles having suffered many severe afflictions by 
deaths in his family, determined to leave the city and retire 
into the country, thinking it would be conducive to the health 
of his surviving children. With this view, he purchased a 
beautiful country residence between two and three miles from 
the city, and removed there in the Fall of 1845 ; and here we 
bid adieu to his commercial life. 

We have endeavored to give a short sketch of the life of 
one of our merchants. We would not be thought exclusive. 
Many similar records might be given of this class of our enter- 
prising citizens, men who, more than any other portions of a 
commercial community, give a tone and character to the city in 
which they dwell, 

Louisville may well feel proud of her merchants. For 
strict integrity in their moneyed transactions, for the liberal 
spirit which they manifest on all occasions where their aid is 
sought, they are justly esteemed no less than for their industry 
and enterprise. 

Mr. Bowles, having removed to the country, pursued the 
same systematic course which he had adopted in early life. The 
truism, " The boy is father to the man," is exemplified in his 
case. At dawn of day he may still be seen taking an early 
view of all around, and seeing that all things are adjusted for 
the labors of the coming day ; or, not unfrequently, with im- 
plement in hand, giving a practical illustration of his theories. 
After an early breakfast he drives to town, attends to business, 
but so soon as bank hours close, returns home, where the re- 
mainder of the day is passed in performing the various duties 
and pleasures which belong to the life of a farmer, A sincere 
lover of nature in all her beautiful phases, he never tires of her 
company, and thus, though still engaged somewhat in moneyed 
concerns, yet most of his time is passed in agricultural pursuits, 
in which his chief pleasures lie. 

In view of writing the life of a merchant, the materials for 
erecting a monument to his memory which could be of interest 
to the public eye, appear so scant that a feeling of discourage- 



182 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ment comes over the mind of the writer. His character, as it 
passes in review before him, exhibits none of those traits which 
serve to intoxicate the mind of the reader, or render so easy 
the task of the narrator. He must deal with facts. The plain 
and unuarnished truths of everyday life are the basis on which 
his arguments are laid. Our duty is fulfilled. 

If one young man should chance, on reading our unpre- 
tending pages, to resolve to follow in the footsteps of our mer- 
chant, we shall feel amply repaid for our trouble in elucidating 
his career. Let him resolve to do something as a worthy citi- 
zen, or as a son of our glorious republic ; and having, after 
mature consideration and advice, resolved, let him pursue his 
course unflinching, and with the blessing of Divine Providence, 
his labors will be crowued with success. 

In addition to his labors for his own city, he also accom- 
plished much for the future of Evansville. Many are the loans 
that our merchants and capitalists received from our subject, 
and he is held in grateful remembrance by many of our most 
influential citizens. 



Major H. A. Mattison. 



,|M£ AMILTON A. MATTISON was born in Rensellaer 
Sli!l> County, New York, on September 23d, 1832. His 
father, Allen J. Mattison, was a farmer by occupation, and the 
son of a Rhode Island Quaker, who left that sect to enter 
the Revolutionary army, where he participated in the battle % of 
Bunker Hill, and finally settled in the Empire State. 

Major Mattison, the subject of this sketch, passed his time 
in the usual way of farmers' boys until his nineteenth year 
when he went to Troy and clerked in a store there for the two 
succeeding years. Here he saved sufficient money to keep him 
two years at the New York Conference Seminary, at Charlottes- 
ville, Schoharie County. He graduated at the age of twenty- 




MAJOR H. A. MATTISON. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 183 

five, and among the students — in number 780, and of both sexes 
— he became acquainted with the most estimable lady, who 
afterwards became his wife. He left this institution with the 
highest honors, being the valedictorian of his class, After 
teaching till 1856, he entered the Sophomore class at Union 
College, and graduated in the Summer of 1860. 

He at once became Principal of the Bacon Seminary, in 
Salem County, with one hundred and fifty students under his 
care. Here he remained until his patriotism was aroused to its 
highest pitch, and be determined to come to the rescue of his 
endangered country. The Governor of his native State com- 
missioned him as Second Lieutenant, and having raised a com- 
pany, he was promoted to the captaincy, and before leaving the 
State he was promoted to the position of Major of the regiment 
to which his company belonged. His company was then the 
color-bearing company of the regiment, and formed a part of 
the First Brigade, Third Division, Second Army Corps, and 
our subject remained in the service till July, 1865. 

Its first battle was at Chancellorsville, where he was 
wounded in two places, and his comrades supposed that they 
would prove fatal. He was taken to Washington, and after- 
wards sent East. His excellent constitution and good nursing 
enabled him to rejoin the army in September, and he became 
attached to the staff of General Alexander Hayes, Third Divis- 
ion, Second Army Corps. He was engaged in all the battles of 
the Wilderness. In the Spring of 1864 his bravery gained him 
the promotion to the position of Assistant Inspector General, 
and he was ordered to report to Major-General Nelson of 
the Second Army Corps ; and in this position he was mustered 
out of the service at the close of the war. 

In May, 1864, during the great Wilderness battles, while 
his corps was charging on the main line of Lee's forces, his 
horse was killed and he was captured by the enemy. The re- 
port of his death among his comrades was believed, and a body, 
supposed to be his, and found near the spot, was honored with 
a soldier's burial ; while his friends at home, and particularly 
the young lady who had plighted to him her troth, mourned 
him as dead. But worse even than death awaited the heroic 
soldier in the Southern prison-pens. He passed through Lynch- 



184 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

burgh, Virginia, Burksville, Andersonville, Macon, Savannah, 
and finally was removed to the Charleston jail-yard, in South 
Carolina. In September, of '64, yellow fever having broken 
out in Cahrleston, the prisoners were conveyed to Columbia, 
two miles out of that city. Here he was confined in a place 
without shelter, barely clothed, and fed solely upon coarse corn 
meal and sour sorghum. All the torturee and sufferings 
which are famed all over the world were experienced by our 
subject and his gallant fellow-prisoners. Endurance was no 
longer possible, and on the 28th of November, 1864, he, in com- 
pany with Major Schermerhorn, of Rockport, Indiana, endeav- 
ored to make his escape. The two started without money, 
with hardly sufficient clothing to cover their nakedness — no 
boots, no hats — and traveled across the State of South Caro- 
lina. No pen can properly paint the picture of their perilous 
journey. Sleeping by day, traveling at night, with the aid of 
the colored people, they reached the city of Savannah, and en- 
tered General Sherman's line about the 6th of June, 1865. In 
a personal interview with the General he told him the route 
over which he had passed, and the Union army followed the 
tracks of the escaping prisoners. He was ordered to report to 
the army of the Potomac as soon as he was in proper condition. 
After a recuperative tour in New York and New Jersey, on the 
1st of March he rejoined the Army of the Potomac and reported 
for duty, where he did noble service in every battle till the 
overthrow of the Rebellion and the surrender of General Lee. 

With a previous study of law, he finished his legal course 
at the Albany School, and graduated as L.L. B. at that institu- 
tion in the Spring of 1866. 

In the Winter of 1865 he was married to the constant and 
true woman who had followed him with genuine devotion 
through his daring and dangerous career — Miss Nellie C. Fair- 
child, daughter of Hon. M. Fairchild, of Salem, New York. 
This lady died in this place, on the 14th of April 1873, leaving 
a husoand and one daughter, with a wide circle of friends to 
mourn her loss. 

Major Mattison practiced law with success at Salem, until 
March, 1868, when he came to Evansville. He formed a part- 
nership with George P. Peck, and in July following the two 



Evamville and its Men of Mark. 185 

united with James M. Warren, in a law firm, which was dis- 
solved in January of the present year. 

Governor Baker, in January, 1872, appointed Major Matti- 
son, Prosecuting Attorney of Vanderburgh County, and in 
October of the same year tbe people elected him to the same 
position by a large majority. He is now in the satisfactory 
discharge of the duties of this honorable position. 



Joseph K. Fmk 



yjtlS a native of Switzerland, having been born at Vilter's 
\jjig) Canton, St. Gallen, in that country, January 15th, 1823. 
Up to his twelfth year he remained with his parents, who were 
Catholics, — his grandfather on his mother's side having been in 
Napoleon Bonaparte's army. His father was an architect and 
builder, and some of his ancestry were high priests at Basel 
and Rome, and were of noble birth. 

The father of tbe subject of this sketch desired his son to 
learn all the mechanical branches in the line of building, from 
the work of the mortar-maker up to the finisher, and accord- 
ingly sent him to Munich, Bavaria, for that purpose. He also 
went to the drawing-school at the same time, where he displayed 
native-born qualities for the mechanical arts, learning very fast 
and advancing rapidly in the drawing-school. After a two 
years' apprenticeship he went to Milan, Italy, where his friends 
advised him to accept tbe invitation of Father Poreani, Supe- 
rior of a large Jesuit convent, with whom he became acquainted 
in Switzerland a few years before. This functionary agreed to 
take him as an apprentice, gratis, for one year. At the begin- 
ning of the second year the convent authorities wanted to shave 
a spot on the head of the young man, as a sign of their Order. 
Tbis frightened him so that he ran away from the Convent Fatte 
Benne Fratilli and went directly to Alia Brarra Neli Belli Arti 
d' Architectura di Milano. Here he remained eight years, and 
24 



186 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

during that time he received the best diploma and premium of 
his classes ; beside, spending a few months in Rome, Naples, 
Florence, Pisa, Pavia, Parma, Mantua, Verona, and Venice. 

At Venice he was assistant superintendent of the stone 
railroad bridge over the Laguna to the city of Venece, After 
thirteen months he returned to Milan to superintend one of the 
towers on the dome of Milan ; and while thus engaged the peo- 
ple revolted, in 1847, against the Austrian Government. Be- 
fore the Italian Revolution he often spoke with General Radeski, 
Heinmann and Wierdisch gratz ; and during the first revolution 
met General Giuseppe Garibaldi, along the Lake of Como, with 
his little army. At the time the Revolution of 1847 broke out 
Mr. Frick left his government situation and went to battle with 
the people for Liberty and Freedom. He was commissioned to 
buy arms for the Italian soldiery. The revolution proved a 
failure, and the Austrinas surrounded the city Milan and again 
ruled it. Orders were given out that insurgents should be shot 
in the streets upon a certain day. The contractor who supplied 
the soldiers with bread got a government baker-wagon, put our 
subject into the bread-box, and brought him safe outside the 
military guard ; and from there, in two nights, he walked to 
the line of Switzerland, near the Lake of Como, and was in the 
Canton Grigione, Switzerland. Here he commenced to super- 
tend the corrections on the river Rhine, for the Government. 

About the same time two of his nephews came home from 
school ; the oldest, Kilian Frick, civil engineer, was a graduate 
of the Polytechnical School at Munich, Bavaria ; John Frick 
had a common high school education. Both of these young 
men informed him that they had permission from their father 
to go to America, provided he would go along ; and so, in 1853, 
they arrived in Chicago, but the financial crises there in 1856 
and '57 forced them to look for another home, and in the Sum- 
mer of 1857 our subject, his brother, Peter Frick, and his two 
nephews, moved to Evansville. He was elected County Sur- 
veyor, but during his term of office the war broke out and they 
were all engaged in the war. 

Kilian Frick was Topographical Engineer, with General 
Sherman. He came home in the Spring of 1864, sick and worn 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 187 

out from the effects of overwork in the war, and died soon 
afterward. 

John Frick was a Captain in the Eleventh Indiana Volun- 
unteers. He was wounded in his right knee in one of the last 
engagements in the Shenandoah Valley, received his discharge 
and came home. He complained of a pain in his knee, and 
was persuaded by our subject to go to Chicago for medical 
treatment. From there he went to several places East, and at 
last to Dr. Pope of St. Louis, where, after three months' trial 
with the Captain's case, he informed him that his injuries were 
past the curing-point, He came home to Evansville, and his 
limb being amputated, he soon died — after a suffering of four 
years duration. 

Jacob Frick was a soldier in the Eleventh Indiana, and 
was killed in the battle of Vicksburg ; and the bones of the 
three heroes all rest in Oak Hill Cemetery. 

Our subject cared for his relatives from the time of their 
leaving Switzerland until they were dead. It took all his 
means for years to get them a practical education ; and, as he 
was not married, he gave up much of his time in attending to 
their wants while in the army. He often visited them, provid- 
ing them with money, clothing, and other things, which showed 
the noble generosity of his nature. 

Mr. Frick is recognized as one of the most scientific archi- 
tects in this section ; and many large and elegant public and 
private structures attest the force of his mechanical genius. 



H. M. Sweetser, 




HE mercantile annals of no city in America contain 
the record of a more honorable and successful 
career than that of H. M. Sweetser, Esq., the leading 
wholesale notion dealer, of Evansville. The imagination can 
easily conceive of a poor boy, with stray scraps of information 
laid away in a head full of brains, climbing, step by step, his 
way to affluence and influence But to actually be such a one 
— to strive in the race, and to conquer — has been the experi- 
ence of Mr. Sweetser. Take away this extensive establishment 
from the city to-day, and one department of its mercantile life 
would be virtually dead. Such success has seldom been reached 
in the experience of the thousands of American merchants. 

Henry M. Sweetser was born at Hartford, Connecticut, in 
the year 1839. His parents dying when he was yet a child, he 
was early compelled to rely upon himself ; and his ambition, 
together with his necessities, laid the foundation for his energy 
and self-reliance. Even at the age of nine years, he worked 
upon his uncle's farm during the Summer, and attended school 
during the Winter. 

In this way his early life was passed until the age of six- 
teen. "When, in 1855, he arrived in the city of Evansville from 
Hartford, Connecticut, with Mr. E. S. Alvord, and first engaged 
in the general store of Willard Carpenter & Co., as their porter, 
and stayed with them in that capacity until they retired from 
business, and then went with their successors, Jewell & Benja- 
min. Next he was emyloyed in the house of Archer & Mackey, 
dealers in dry goods, boots, shoes, hats and caps. About this 
time Evansville became more prominent as a point for jobbing 
goods ; and as an evidence of this, the separation of different 



190 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

lines of business began, and instead of such establishments, 
general stock stores began to open out in separate lines. In 
1862, then he started the first wholesale notion house in the 
city, in conjunction with W. H. McGary and S C. Woodson, in 
the second story of the house now occupied by Nolte, Brink- 
meyer & Co., on Main street. They passed six months in that 
house, but the business having greatly increased, they removed 
to the house where Healy, Isaacs & Co. are now situated ; and 
at the end of the year Mr. Sweetser retired from the firm and 
formed a new copartnership with A. H. Edwards, under the 
firm name of Sweetser & Edwards — buying out the firm of Mil- 
ler & Witt, in the house which J. 0. Flickner now occupies. 
At the end of another year, Mr. Sweetser purchased the inter- 
est of Mr. Edwards in the business, and since that time he has 
" played it alone," occupying that stand until February 9th, 
1872, when he moved to his present excellent location — one of 
the most elegant and best-appointed establishments to be found 
in the West. 

Mr. Sweetser's establishment, situated as it is, at the junc- 
tion of First and Sycamore streets, occupies a most command- 
ing position. The house is of brick, and built in metropolitan 
style, four stories high, with a basement, one hundred and fifty 
feet long by twenty-five feet wide, and has probably more floor 
room than any business house in the city of Evansville. The 
front of the building is graced by handsome French plate glass 
doors and windows, as clear as a polished mirror. 

The first floor is lighted from one side by oval windows 
over the shelving, which give a strong flood of light to the 
salesroom, and cause the neat and cleanly-painted counters and 
shelving to look cheerful and inviting, either to the customer 
or the visitor. In the rear of the first floor may be found the 
accountant's office, well arranged with oil-walnut furniture, and 
its walls decorated with paintings and photographs of many of 
the leading manufactories of the country. Near by the count- 
ing-room is one of Reedy 's patent elevators, running from the 
basement to the fourth story. The basement is a very orderly 
apartment, indeed, and is paved with brick, lighted with gas, 
and has water-works and a cistern holding water for general 
use, or for precaution in case of fire. The second, third and 






Evansville and its Men of Mark. 191 

fourth stories, although not exactly, are similarly arranged as 
the first. Throughout the entire building there is the most 
perfect adaptation of the different departments to the conveni- 
ence of their immense trade, and we present it as a model Wes- 
tern mercantile palace. 

From this house goods are shipped to nearly all of the 
prominent cities and towns in Southern Indiana, Southern Illi- 
nois, Kentucky and Tennecsee, and his sales thus far for the 
season are nearly fifty per cent, over a similar period of last 
year ; thus indicating the rapid growth and increasing prosper- 
ity of the city's commerce. 

From an obscure and humble beginning, Mr, Sweetser, by 
strict attention, energy, and perseverance in business, has pros- 
pered ; and to-day his credit in New York is such that he is 
enabled to buy goods as cheap os any house in the country, and 
he has shown by the extent of his trade that he can compete 
with Cincinnati, Louisville, St. Louis and Chicago, in selling 
goods at the very doors of the above cities. In this way he has 
helped to draw trade to this city, and has benefited other lines 
of business as well as his own thereby. Besides devoting him- 
self to his business, he has been one' of Evansville's most prom- 
inent citizens, in the promotion of every enterprise that has 
been brought forward for her advancement, contributing means 
and working energetically to help them along. As an instance of 
his high and noted liberality, it may be mentioned that only a few 
weeks ago he proposed to give one hundred dollars toward the 
purchase of new volumes for the Public Library, and the thor- 
re-establishment of that institution. He called upon others to 
join him in this donation. And this is only one of the many 
instances wherein he has shown a generosity as broad as his 
understanding, and as large as his heart. 

Mr. Sweetser was one of the original movers in getting up 
the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad, and was one of the 
committee that went over the ground to estimate its importance 
and locate it. He has long been an active stockholder in the 
Evansville and Cairo Packet Company, is, and has been for a 
number of years, its Secretary and Business Manager ; he is also 
a director in the German National Bank, and the Evansville 
Street Railroad Company. 



192 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Mr. Sweetser lias not yet reached his prime, and is a noble 
specimen of the Western merchant — a vigorous, energetic and 
capable business man. 




John William Compton, M. D. 



? AS born near Hardenburg, Breckinridge County, 
Kentucky, on the 22d of July, 1825. His father, 
J. D. Compton, was a farmer, and arrived in Kentucky from 
Virginia with his parents when but a small child. Our sub- 
ject's education was obtained partly in the very common schools 
of a sparsely-settled country neighborhood, and also, for a few 
months, in a private school, taught by a Professor Fabrique — a 
man of letters, who had located in the vicinity of his native 
village. John worked on the farm, and in a saw-mill operated 
by his father, till about sixteen years of age ; and then, wish- 
ing to adopt the medical profession as a means of livelihood, he 
commenced teaching, and laying aside the proceeds of his labor 
for that purpose. After four years service in the educational 
field, he entered the office of Dr. Norton Green, then of Duncan 
Springs, now of Louisville. The young man proved an apt 
student, After his association with Dr. Green, he was also a 
student in the office of Dr. S. G. Scott, of Cloverport, Ken- 
tucky, and then attended a full course of lectures at the Medi- 
cal Department of the University of Louisville, and was 
admitted to practice in 1849. 

Dr. Compton first located in Knottsville, Davis County, 
Kentucky, and here his practice was snch as to gain for him an 
enviable reputation. In 1852 he removed to Owensboro, the 
county-seat, where he continued in active practice till the 
breaking out of the war. He was then commissoned Assistant 
Surgeon of the Seventh Kentucky Infantry, and remained in 
the field about six months, being stationed at Nashville and 
Clarksville, Tennessee, and Russellville, Kentucky. In the 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 193 

Spring of 1862 he was commissioned Surgeon of the Board of 
Enrollment of the Second District of Kentucky, and was ac- 
tively engaged in that capacity till the close of the war in 1865. 

In October, 1865, he removed to Evansville and formed a 
partnership with Dr, J. P. DeBruler, which terminated in 1869, 
by Dr. Compton's removal to the village of McCutchanville and 
endeavoring to carry out his favorite project of uniting farming 
with the practice of medicine After five months' experience 
he returned to this city, and has since been busily engaged. 
His work is laborious and extends over an exceedingly exten- 
sive territory. 

Dr. Compton's reputation as a successful practitioner is 
well established, and his many patients and acquaintances can 
testify as to his uniform courtesy of manner toward the poor as 
well as the rich. 

The social element predominating in the character of Dr. 
Compton caused him to join the Masonic fraternity as soon as 
his age would admit him to membership. He filled all the 
offices in succession, from Junior Deacon to Master of the Lodge, 
and once represented his Lodge in the Grand Lodge of Ken- 
tucky. A greater part of his early life he was connected with 
the Sons of Temperance and Temple of Honor, and has been a 
member of the Baptist Church for thirty years. 

Dr. Comptou was married on the 29th of November, 1853, 
to Miss Sallie Morton, daughter of David Morton, an old mer- 
chant of fifty years standing in Davis County, Kentucky, 



Hon. D. T. Laird. 



^ESSE LAIRD, the father of the subject of this sketch, 
was born in Ireland, and emigrated to this country 
with his parents, while a small boy, about the year 1799, and 
settled in the State of Pennsylvania. In the year 1807 Jesse 
Laird was married to Miss Mary Tharp, a lady of Green County, 
Pennsylvania, and of German parentage. In 1813 the young 
25 




194 Evansvllle and its Men of Mark. 

couple removed to the county of Dearborn, in the Territory of 
Indiana, and settled there — building a cabin where that part of 
the town of Lawrenceburgh called Newtown now stands. A few 
years before the father's death he could point out, and often 
did so, the exact spot where the cabin formerly stood. The 
land at that time overflowed and was very unhealthy, and a few 
years afterward Mr. Jesse Laird moved about three miles west 
of Lawrenceburgh, to Wilson Creek, where he had entered 
land and where he continued to live, pursuing the occupation 
of a farmer up to the time of his death, which occurred in 1867 
— the mother having died in 1837. 

It was in the cabin above referred to, on the 20th day of 
February, 1816, while Indiana was yet under a territorial gov- 
ernment — she having been admitted in the Union as a State on 
the 11th day of December, 1816 — that Hon. D. T. Laird was 
born. We have found but few persons now living in the State 
who were born in the Territory prior to her admission as a 
State. Our subject is not only a native Indianian, but he has 
always resided in this State. When young, his means and op- 
portunities for obtaining an education were very limited — his 
father, like most of the early settlers, being poor, with a large 
family and no means of support except his own labor. In 1830, 
at the age of sixteen, David left home and commenced work in 
a printing office — the Western Statesman, published at Law- 
renceburgh, by Milton Gregg — without education, except that 
he could read and speli. The education he afterward acquired 
was obtained by his own efforts, without the assistance of schools 
of any kind. With great diligence he pursued his studies on 
Sundays and in the evenings and mornings before he was re- 
quired to go to work. 

When about twenty years of age, having read all the stand- 
ard histories, ancient and modern, within his reach, and studied 
English Grammar, as well as it could be done without a master, 
he commenced reading law ; the Hon. Geo. H, Dunn having 
kindly given him the use of his law library and his advice as 
to the hooks he should read at the outset. 

In 1833 he was employed as assistant engineer in surveying 
the Lawrenceburgh and Indianapolis Railroad. It was about 
the first railroad surveyed and commenced in the State under 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 195 

what was then known as the General Internal Improvement 
System. 

Among his associates there were many young men who have 
since acquired distinction and eminence, of whom are General 
Don Carlos Buell, Hosea H. Durbin, Henry Ward Beecher and 
James H. Lane, beside many others. The distinguished men 
who yet live in his earliest recollection are Hon. John Test, 
Hon. Geo. H. Dunn, Hon. Amos Lane, Hon. Ezra Ferris, Hon. 
James Dill, Hon. Pinckney James, Hon. Abel C. Pepper, and 
Governor Noah Noble, General W. H. Harmon, Rev. Allen 
Wiley, Rev. John P. Durbin and Rev. John N. Motfett. 

On the 8th day of August, 1838, Hon. D. T. Laird was 
married to Clarrissa P. Hayden, of Boone County, Kentucky, 
who is still living. They have six children — two boys and four 
girls — all of whom are married except Anna, the youngest 
daughter. 

In 1847 Mr. Laird removed from Lawrenceburgh to Perry 
County and settled at Troy. At the September term, 1848, 
of the Perry Circuit Court, held then at Rome, the Hon. Jas. 
Lockhart presiding, our subject made application to be admit- 
ted to practice as an attorney at law ; and on the motion of Hon. 
John A. Breckinridge, the court appointed Hon. John A. 
Breckinridge, Hon. Samuel Frisbee and Judge H. G. Barkwell 
a committee, who, after an examination, filed in court their cer- 
tificate of qualification, and he was licensed and admitted as an 
attorney at law, and commenced the practice at the age of thir- 
ty-three years. In 1853 he was admitted as an attorney in the 
Supreme Court of the State and the Circuit -Court of the United 
States for the District of Indiana. 

In 1857 he removed from Troy, in Perry County, to Rock- 
port, in Spencer County, where he has ever since resided. In 
politics, to which he has devoted much study and thought, and 
has been highly honored by his fellow-citizens, he was a Whig 
until that party ceased to exist ; and since 1858 he has voted 
and acted with the Democrats. 

In 1852 he was elected to the office of Representative in 
the Legislature from the county of Perry, and served as such 
during the session of 1853. 

In 1856 he was the Filmore elector in the Second Congres- 
sional District. In 1860 he was a candidate for the office of 



196 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Representative of Spencer County. General J. 0. Veatch was 
his opponent, and our subject was defeated by thirteen votes. 
Shortly afterward General Veatch was appointed Colonel of the 
Twenty-fifth regiment, Indiana Volunteers, creating a vacancy 
in the office of Representative. Hon. D. T. Laird was again a 
candidate, and was elected to hold out his unexpired term as a 
Representative. 

In 1862 Mr. Laird was elected Judge of the Court of Com- 
mon Pleas in the Third Common Pleas District, composed of the 
counties of Spencer, Perry, Orange, Crawford and Dubois. He 
was again elected to the same office in 1864, and again in 1868. 
In 1870 he resigned the office of Judge of the Common Pleas, 
and the same year was elected Judge of the Circuit Court in 
the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit. By the act of the Legislature 
of 1873, abolishing the Court of Common Pleas and re-district- 
ing the State for judicial purposes, and increasing the number 
of circuits, the Second Judicial Circuit, composing the counties 
of Warrick, Spencer, Perry and Crawford, was assigned to him 
and he is still discharging the duties of this high position, hav- 
ing raised himself from an humble position by the force of his 
own worth and industry. Our subject is well known in this 
section for his high legal attainments, his judicial integrity, 
and the respect which he enjoys from the members of the legal 
fraternity. 




m 



. Dr. George Brinton Walker. 



^R. WALKER, the subject of this sketch, was born 
December 6th, 1807, at Salem, New Jersey. His 
father. William Walker, was a resident of Delaware, but was 
marrried to Miss Catharine Tyler, a highly accomplished lady 
of Salem, at which place the then young couple took up their 
abode. Dr. Walker was educated in the common schools of 
that city and Cincinnati, and afterward, at the latter city, pur- 
sued an extensive medical college course, graduating at the 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 197 

Medical College of Ohio in 1830. For the five following years 
he engaged zealously and successfully in the practice of medi- 
cine in Cincinnati, when, in 1835, he removed to Evansville. 

For over forty years his professional skill has been put to 
the test in this city. Each year has added to bis increasing fame. 

In politics, Dr. Walker has been a Democrat ; though he 
favored the Union cause during the war. His first vote was 
cast for General Jackson. Our subject did efficient service for 
two years during the Rebellion, as Hospital Surgeon, at the 
soldiers' hospital at this place. He has also been connected 
with all the prominent movements of the medical fraternity of 
this section ever since he began his practice here. As trustee 
of the hospital, as President, and member of the Board of 
Health for several years, his sphere of usefulness has been of 
the widest nature. He was a member of the old medical col- 
lege faculty, and is at present Dean and Professor of Obstetrics 
in our city's Medical College. During the construction of the 
Evansville and Crawfordsville Eailroad he was a director. He 
was a State Director of the Evansville Branch of the State 
Bank of Indiana, and is now a member of the Board of Direct- 
ors of the Public Hall Company, and of the Evansville Street 
Railway. He was a delegate to the Democratic Convention 
which met at Baltimore in 1856 and nominated Franklin Pierce 
for the Presidency. He has been a member of the Evansville 
Medical Society, the Drake Academy of Medicine and the Ind- 
iana State Medical Society since they were first started. 

In company with Judge Battele, Dr. Walker was appointed 
by the citizens of Evansville in 1856 to visit Indianapolis to 
request the Governor of the State to provide means for supress- 
ing the riotous proceedings in Clay County, in the cutting of 
the banks of the canal. The delegation was entirely successful 
in the accomplishment of its mission, and the result was the 
breaking up of what was called the " Clay County War." 

Dr. Walker was married to Miss Elizabeth Clark, of Cin- 
cinnati, on the 23d of June, 1835. 

Dr. Walker is a thorough gentleman, a man of high sense 
of professional honor, with the utmost benevolence toward his 
fellow men. 



Hon. William Hall Walker, 



jywIvHE brother of Dr. Walker, was also born in Salem, New 
M& Jersey, on the 18th of September, 1812. Mr. Walker 
received his early education at Cincinnati, and in due course of 
time engaged in mercantile pursuits. He continued in this 
manner until the year 1845, when he was appointed Auditor of 
Vanderburgh CouDty. So faithfully were the duties of this office 
discharged, that for seventeen years he was successively re- 
elected. He was intimately associated, from 1845, with political 
movements and public enterprises. In the war he was a zeal- 
ous supporter of the Union, and did all in his power to uphold 
the cause. He organized a company of home guards, and was 
elected its captain ; he was also appointed by the County Com- 
missioners, in the early part of the Rebellion, to go East to 
negotiate the purchase of arms for the protection of the county. 
In 1868 be was a candidate for Mayor of the city, against the 
late William Baker, and was elected to this high position. He 
was twice re-elected by the people, and died while in office, on 
the 9th of September, 1870. 

During his administration many memorable local improve- 
ments were made. The High School building was built, also 
the Fulton avenue School-house ; the Water Works enterprise 
was commenced, and the system of underground drainage ; the 
sewerage of the city was largely extended ; the Evansville por- 
tion of the St. Louis and Southeastern Railroad was also pro- 
jected and commenced during this period. In all these move- 
ments — although a majority of the City Council was opposed 
in politics to the policy oi the Mayor, and maintained a most 
bitter opposition to it — their personal relations were on the most 
friendly and cordial basis ; while his good intentions and high 
integrity were never so much as questioned. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 199 

On the 23d of May, 1836, soon after his arrival in 
Evansville, Mayor Walker was married to Miss Frances M. 
Spenning, who died a few weeks after the birth of her first 
child, in 1838. He was married a second time on September 
15th, 1852, to Miss Elizabeth Ellison, of Mobile ; and this lady 
died in 1857. Of the four children born to them, there were 
two girls and two boys — the youngest child living but a short 
time after the death of its mother. 

Mayor Walker was beloved in every walk of life ; his pub- 
lic integrity and private honesty were known to rich and poor 
alike, and a sorrow-stricken city followed his corse to its last 
resting-place in Oak Hill Cemetery, and his name will ever be 
mentioned with reverence in this citv. 



A. Hazen, Esq. 




HAZEN, Esq,., was born in Hartford, Windsor 
)<§> County, Vermont, November 3d, 1822, and at an 
early age determined to seek his fortune in the Far West ; 
accordingly, on the 10th of September, 1836, he left his native 
town and came direct to Netvburgh, where he arrived October 
10th. He was employed in the store of A.. M. Phelps until the 
Summer of 1845. In this year he entered into business on his 
own account, buying a very complete line of dry goods, and 
opening a general dry goods establishment. This was in Sep- 
tember, 1845. 

Mr. Hazen was married to Miss Eliza Ann Roberts, eldest 
daughter of Judge Gaines H. Roberts, on the 6th of December, 
1846. 

For almost thirty-four years he has lived in Newburgh ; 
and during the last twenty-five years has scarcely been sick a 
single day. For twenty-two years he has been an honored 
member of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows and has only 
been able to claim one week's benefits, amounting to $3.00. He 



200 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

has witnessed his native town's growth from 200 people to 
1,800, and that of Evansville from 2,500 to 35,000. 

Mr. Hazen is thus extensively known, not only along the 
banks of the Ohio — being associated in its navigation interests 
— but also interior districts. His course in life has been straight- 
forward, honest and successful, in every respect. 




Anthony Reis. 



'R. REIS is one of those men who illustrate in their 
lives the idea that labor is ennobling. Although 
the necessity for labor has long since passed from him, his active 
mind and body are almost constantly employed ; and although 
apparently one of the busiest of men, he is not absorbed for 
the love of gain, but his business is to him a field of study, in 
which his mind finds means to expand, while he improves in 
the art to which a great portion of his life has been devoted. 

Born in Cincinnati, May 11th, 1829, of German parents, 
who were in moderate circumstances, he early became a worker. 
While yet a boy, he entered the tannery of his brother-in-law 
as a volunteer worker, and after a time thus spent, he entered 
upon a regular apprenticeship and learned the trade of a cur- 
rier, at which he worked two years as a journeyman after his 
term as an apprentice expired. He then began business on his 
own account, and continued in the business until 1855, when 
he sold out and removed to Evansville, and in 1857 opened a 
leather store, and subsequently established a tannery to run in 
connection therewith. 

In this tannery is where Mr. Reis' character is most forci- 
bly reflected. When he bought it, it was small, inconvenient, 
and had very little machinery; but his own genius and a proper 
appreciation of the genius of others, as applied to the art of 
producing leather, have been freely used, until now his estab- 
lishment is at once one of the most convenient, best furnished, 




MRS. SHARPE. 




PETER SHARPE. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 201 

and most effective in the world. There is among old tanners a 
sort of prejudice against machinery, that for some years seemed 
almost insurmountable ; but Mr. Reis shares none of this, as 
will be seen by the cunning devices in his tannery by which 
work is done, that it has, time and again been declared it was 
impossible to do except with human hands. 

In the study of his business Mr. Reis has perfected himself 
in the knowledge of the principles underlying the art of leather 
making, and in speaking of it, his conversation, is not only in- 
telligent but highly interesting. 

Mr. Reis is not only a successlul tanner ; he is an intelli- 
gent and cultivated gentleman, who, notwithstanding his busy 
life, has found time to store his mind with useful knowledge, 
and to gratify his taste for the beautiful. His elegant residence 
on Second avenue, is an evidence of the refinement of his taste 
and love of the beautiful, and his desire for the improvement 
o! Evansville. With the same earnestness with which he pros- 
ecutes his business, he enters into any enterprise that promises 
to promote Evansville's interests and give her importance. 

In person, Mr. Reis is of medium size, dark complexion, 
and of so rugged build, that he will, in all probability, far out- 
live the allotted three score and ten. 



Peter Sharpe, Esq. 







H§)ETER SHARPE, Esq., was born September 3d, 1798, 
tffSgfP at Wynantskill, in the town of Grensburgh, about 
four and oue-half miles from the city of Troy, New York. His 
father, Frederick Sharpe, was well known in the State, being 
an extensive land-holder. 

Mr. Peter Sharpe, the subject of this sketch was the eldest 
son of his family. He received a good education at Schenec- 
tady, New York, and graduated under the celebrated Professor 
Nott. After finishing his collegiate course and receiving his 
diploma, he took charge of an academy in New Jersey, not far 
26 



202 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

from Rah way. In the second year of his engagement his health 
failed him, and he was obliged to return home to recuperate 
After being at his father's home for two years, in his twenty- 
second year, he went, in company with David P. Baringer. 
About the time of the expiration of thi3 partnership, Mr. Bar- 
nnger died, and after closing up the business of the old firm, 
embarked in the wholesale grocery business with Elias Mur- 
man. When the firm was dissolved by- limitation, his partner's 
health failed, and not wishing to extend the business, he sold it 
out in the year 1831. 

On the 26th of April, of the same year, he was married to 
Miss Emily Babcock, and in 1833 he entered upon the whole- 
sale tea and grocery business in New York City. Here he con 
tinued in a very large trade until the Fall of 1839, when he 
returned to Troy and carried on an extensive flouring and mill- 
ing business, which was interfered with, however, in 1841, by 
the death of his partner, John Vandertine. 

On Jr.ne 23d, 1843, he removed to Evansville ; and since 
that period has been identified with its growth and mercantile 
prosperity. He entered, as a partner, the firm of Babcock & 
Brothers, remaining in the company for eighteen months. He 
then engaged in buying and shipping grain. 

Mr. Sharpe was always guided in business by the rules of 
strictest integrity and mercantile honor ; and it was about this 
time in his life that he united with the Episcopal Church, 
although he had been reared in New York in the Dutch Re- 
formed faith. He was a devoted, consistent professor of reli- 
gion, and discharged the duties of a warden for a number of 
years previous to his death. 

Iu the latter portion of his life he retired from active pur- 
suits, his income having been won by the toil and sacrifice of 
his younger days He was, however, an active and useful citi- 
zen. He acted as Township Trustee and City Councilman for 
a number of years, and interested himself in, and lent his aid 
to, all public enterprises. He was prominent in the State fairs 
and gave some little attention to agricultural pursuits — pur- 
chasing fifty acres of ground, now within the city limits, and 
carrying on scient^ exp<- .nents upon it He was a zealous, 
practical philanthropist, and gave up large portions of his time 




JOHN INGLE, Jr. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 203 

to visiting the poorer classes, advising them and rendering them 
pecuniary assistance in times of sore distress. 

He was a member of the Masonic fraternity from his 
twenty-first year, when he had charge of the academy in New 
Jersey, up to the time of his death. , 

During his whole life, from his youth to his old age, his 
morals were above reproach — temperate and steady, his ambi. 
tion was to be of some use to the world and his fellow-men. 
And he was always patient in adversity ; bearing with Chris- 
tian fortitude the protracted sufferings attending his last illness. 
While he was honorable to the world, he was a kind husband 
and an affectionate father. His respected widow survives him. 
Of the three children which were born to them, one son is still 
living — a daughter having died in infancy, and a son dying in 
the thirty-first year of his age. 

The name of Peter Sharpe, Esq. is one of the most respected 
in the annals ol Evansville's wortl citizens. 



John Ingle, Jr. 



President Evansville & Crawfordsville Railroad. 



JjpjsMff HE success in life which our subject has attained was 
WMg$ achieved by his own individual efforts. His en- 
ergy and studious habits have placed him high in the profes- 
sional and mercantile world. No one can glance at this brief 
sketch without feeling that similar energetic efforts may pro- 
duce as great results, if they will only work as earnestly as did 
John Ingle, Jr., from his early youth. 

John Ingle, Sr., was born in Somersham, Huntingtonshire 
England, in 1788. By profession a farmer, he had been in good 
circumstances till the close of the war with Napoleon with the 
Allied Powers. Having a strong belief in the success of the 
United States, he immigrated to America and arrived at Evans- 



204 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ville on the first Monday in August, 1818. He chartered a 
wagon and proceeded to Princeton, where he purchased a house. 
In a short time he returned to Vanderburgh County and bought 
a farm in Scott Township, at a point now known as Inglefield. 
He was appointed Postmaster by President Monroe, and retained 
that office for over forty-five years. Mr. Ingle was an intelli- 
gent gentleman, and " John Ingle's cabin " was a sort of half- 
way house for the traveling preachers who occasionally visited 
this section. The emigrants, too, often tested the hospitality of 
Mr. Ingle, and his reputation for keeping " open house " was 
well known for many years. The aged pioneer yet resides on 
the old homestead. Piain and simple in his habits, though at 
the advanced age of eighty-five, his health appears to be good, 
and we trust that his life may be spared for many years to 
come. 

The eldest son, John Ingle, Jr., was born in Somersham, 
Huntingtonshire, England, on the 29th of January, 1812. He at- 
tended, for several months, a "dame" school, taught by an elder- 
ly lady, who tried to keep the children out of mischief, When 
about twelve years of age, he was a student for a year and a 
half in the common schools of Princeton, His father had a 
small but select library, and the young lad pored over the 
books hour after hour, while the wolves were howling on the 
outside of the cabin door. He worked for two years at the- 
cabinet and furniture business at Princeton, and completed his 
apprenticeship at the trade at Stringtown. 

In 1833 he started South, aod first worked as a journey- 
man cabinet-maker at Vicksburg, at the time of the great chol- 
era excitement. He then went to New Orleans, and after 
working there eight, weeks, engaged passage in the steerage of 
a sailing vessel bound for Philadelphia. Solitary and despond- 
ent, he walked the streets of Philadelphia for over two weeks, 
looking for employment. His hogskin cap and Kentucky jeans 
clothes made quite a sensation in the streets of the Quaker City. 

He found a place where he worked earnestly ten hours a 
day at his trade, and also read law for eight more in an office 
where George R Graham, the well-known editor of Graham's 
Magaziue, and Charles J. Peterson, since publisher of Peterson's 
Ladies' Magazine, were also students. The lawyer, Thomas 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 205 

Armstrong, Jr., — since celebrated for professional success — 
was president of a debating society, of wbich the young men 
were members, and in the wide-awake debates of those early 
days, our subject was : proficient for his skill in handling the 
unpopular side of many a knotty question. 

After reading in the office for three years, he was admitted 
to the bar in March, 1838. He came to Evansville and opened 
and office with Hon. James Lockbart. The partnership contin- 
ued about a year, and then he was associated with Charles I. 
Battel. This professional association secured a large share of 
practice. Mr. Ingle's labors for his clients' interests obtained 
for him a leading position at the bar. His intelligent and hon- 
orable course made him popular with the people at large, and 
his reputation as a jurist was only equaled by the favor with 
which he was received by the citizens generally. 

In 1846 he was associated with E. Q,. Wheeler. In 1849, 
Asa Iglehart was admitted as junior member of the firm. 

In 1850 Mr, Ingle bid farewell to professional engagement 
and took hold of the Evansville & Crawfordsville RE. enterprise, 
which had been started by Judge Lockhart, Judge Jones, him- 
self and others. Judge Hall was afterward associated with the 
movement. Evansville was then a collection of shanties ; the 
Wabash and Erie Canal had utterly failed ; and some outlet 
was wanted to the country. The leading citizens thought if 
anything was to be accomplished for Evansville, it must be done 
immediately. There was no money ; but the city issued bonds 
for one hundred thousand dollars, and the county contributed 
an equal amount. With these as collateral, the iron was ob- 
tained and the road-bed to Princeton was soon finished, the 
track laid, and business on a small scale commenced to ply be- 
tween Evansville and the North. Mr. Ingle at first acted as 
Superintendent, and in that capacity proved an invaluable offi- 
cial. His ability as a financier added to his skillful manage- 
ment, was the means of his being elected President of the 
corporation, in which official capacity he continues at the date 
of writing 

How our subject toiled year after year in finishing and 
stocking the road is a matter of history, and which will never 
be forgotten. Indomitable in his labors for the welfare of the 



206 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

road, cautious, possessing a well-balanced judgment, very de- 
cided in the execution of his plans, his business capabilities 
were eminently calculated to insure success. There was not a 
perplexing trial from which he shrank, no labor which he could 
not perform, and no kind deed which he was not ever ready to 
do for the interest of the road and its employees. Though 
somewhat enfeebled by his labors of the past twenty years, we 
trust that his life may be long preserved to the city, and that 
the benefit of his labors and experience may be of service to 
the " future metropolis of Indiana." 

Mr. Ingle was married in 1842, at Madison, Indiana, to 
Miss Isabella G. Davidson, daughter of William Davidson, for- 
merly of Scotland. Seven children are the result of the union, 
all of whom are living. 



Major Blythe Hynes. 



HE Bar of the State has no better representative than 
^§0^) in the person and high qualifications of Mr. Blythe 
Hynes. He was born at Bardstown, Nelson County, Ken- 
tucky, on the 10th of November, 1833. His father, Dr. A. M, 
Hynes was an old settler arid practitioner in that section, and 
was both largely and favorably known. 

Our subject entered St. Joseph's Jesuit College in 1846, 
and graduated in 1850, on the 10th of April, He entered im 
mediately afterward the office of Jones & Blythe, of this city, 
and after a most thorough course in legal studies, was admitted 
to practice in 1855. Two years subsequently he formed a part- 
nership with John Jay Chandler, which lasted till 1864, and 




A. M. PHELPS. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 207 

the firm enjoyed the patronage of an extensive list of clients. 

In 1860 Mr. Hynes was elected Prosecuting Attorney for 
the Fifteenth Judicial Circuit, and during his two years' term 
of office added largely to his reputation, by the earnest and 
vigorous discharge of its duties. The people appreciated his 
efforts, and elected him, in 1864, as County Clerk, which he 
held for four years. This was a flattering testimonial to our 
subject, as he Was absent in the army at the time of his first 
candidacy. 

He was appointed Provost Marshal by President Lincoln, 
and resigned the office to go into the hundred -days' service, as 
Major of the One Hundred and Thirty-sixth Indiana Infantry. 

Major Hynes was married, in 1858, to Miss Mary E. Jones, 
daughter of Colonel J. Gr. Jones. 

Time has dealt lightly with the strong physical frame of 
our subject; and his good health, in addition to his well-trained 
and capacious intellect, will be of vast aid to him in the close 
application with which he attends to his professional duties. 

An affable gentleman he is a strong man before a jury and 
a very sagacious and far-sighted counselor. 




A. M. Phelps. 



M. PHELPS, Esq., was one of four children of Cad- 
well and Margaret Phelps. His father was married 
to Margaret Hamilton, February 19th, 1795. 

Mr. Phelps was born January 6th, 1798, in Hartford, Wind- 
sor County, Vermont, where his father had settled in 1796, 
when the country was almost a wilderness — being of English 
descent. His father, being an early settler, had but limited 
means ; and there being but poor opportunities for him to give 
his children an education, young Phelps did not acquire fnuch 
of an education while at home. On one occasion, while yet but 
fourteen years old, his father said to him : " Abram, I must go to 
work and try to make money enough to buy this farm " — refer- 



208 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ring to the land that lay south of them, and which was then 
for sale — " for you, when you become of age." " No," said 
Abram ; " I'm bound for the West, when that day arrives." 

When nineteen, his father gave him his time, and he went 
to work for ten dollars a month, which was then consid- 
ered high wages. He worked for about two years. After this 
he went to school about one year in Royalton Academy, in 
Vermont. 

On the 10th of June, 1820, with all the goods he had, on 
his back and only thirty-three dollars in his pocket, he started 
on toot and alone for Cleveland, Ohio. He set out on Monday. 
On Sunday following he came to a church where the people 
were worshipping, and a large number of boys near the house 
playing ball, which seemed very strange to him, after having 
been accustomed to the strict observance of the Sabbath where 
he was raised. This was on the Mohawk River, New York. In 
a few days after he passed through the Gennesee country, New 
York, where Governor Clinton had been instrumental in hav- 
ing a canal built, which they were then at work on. and which 
was so frequently called " Governor Clinton's Ditch" — being 
now the Great Western Ship and Barge Canal. 

Shortly after, he arrived at Lake Erie, at what was then 
called Black Rock, four miles below Buffalo, where the steamer 
" Walk-in-the-Water," — the first and only vessel that was built 
on the Western waters — was to sail from next day. But before 
venturing out "to sea" next morning, four yoke of oxen were 
hitched to the steamer to pull it about three miles, for fear she 
might go over the falls. Although steam was up and the wheels 
were in motion, she did not move faster than the oxen could 
travel. After the oxen were loosed from her she only moved 
four or five miles an hour. In about fifty-six hours she reached 
Cleveland, Ohio, a distance of about two hundred miles. 

He had an uncle and aunt living about six miles 
from Cleveland, at a little town called Newburgh, where he 
visited about two weeks, and then started farther West, reach- 
ing Franklin, thirty-five miles north of Cincinnati, on the Big 
Miami River, where he taught school in one school-house two 
years and six months. He then hired as a hand to go on a flat- 
boat to New Orleans. Before starting he laid out all his money 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 209 

in purchasing flour and chickens, which enabled him to secure 
forty barrels of flour and about thirty dozen of chickens. This 
was in April, 1823. They had to wait for a rise iu the river, 
so as to cross the mill-dams, which were about twenty-four in 
number between that and the Ohio Kiver. 

He had a pleasant voyage down the river, which gave him 
a good opportunity to examine the country and towns along the 
banks ; and on his way down he made Evansville his choice for 
a residence. While in the South — Louisiana and Mississippi — 
he learned that reeds to weave with were very scarce and com- 
manded a high price. In June following he returned to Evans- 
ville, and from his ingenuity he went to work making reeds — 
there being an abundance of cane growing on the opposite side 
of the river, out of which these reeds were made. Between 
that time and the middle of November he made about one hun- 
dred, and built a large skiff, covering it over with canvass, and 
started the second time for the South, with a boy named Jones, 
whose mother's name was Abbot, where he peddled out the 
reeds at from two to five dollars apiece, and took for part pay 
beef hides, deer skins and beeswax, which he sold in New Or- 
leans. After he had sold his reeds he purchased a lot of dry 
goods, boots and shoes, had his skiff brought up on a steamboat 
to Memphis, and then peddled out his goods in his skiff going 
down. This he did five successive trips. By this time he had 
about one thousand dollars ; this he laid out in dry goods, boots 
and shoes, and returned to Evansville in June following. 

On July 17, 1827, he was married to Miss Frances John- 
son, with whom he had formed an acquaintance about a year 
previous. 

In October following he put all his goods in a small flat- 
boat, and employed a yellow man, named " Dave," who formerly 
belonged to Hugh McGary, and again started down the river 
and peddled out his goods — reaching New Orleans in January, 
where he again purchased goods and returned to Evansville. 
After his return he commenced business in a frame house where 
the Marble Hall now stands, where he did business in a small 
way. His first clerk, who commenced with him when he was 
fourteen years old, was James Jones — afterward Judge, then 
Colonel — who lived with him two years, when he sold out. 

27 



210 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

While in business he took in pork and nearly all kinds of 
produce, which he run to New Orleans in flat-boats, making 
two or three trips a year, selling and buying goods. He had 
then about two thousand dollars in United States paper. In 
1830, after being absent ten years, he visited his old home in 
Vermont ; but before he returned home he went to New York 
and purchased goods with what money he had, and purchased 
some on credit. On his return he moved to Newburgh, Indi- 
ana, where he went into business again — being about the 1st of 
October, 1830. 

Since then he has crossed the Alleghany Mountains in stage 
coaches and canal boats more than forty times, going to and 
coming from New York and Philadelphia to purchase goods be- 
fore railroads were built. When he first settled here it was 
almost a wilderness, there being only five lamilies where the 
town now is. With the means he had and with good credit he 
soon established a very heavy business, having only very small 
competition. In a few years he became acquainted with the 
settlers in this and the adjoining counties, Pike, Dubois, and 
Spencer, who gave him an extensive trade. Many of the set- 
tlers at that time lived on " Congress " land, and many of 
these got him to purchase their lands for them, which he did, 
giving them time to pay him — they paying a reasonable inter- 
est. He rendered them further assistance to make their pay- 
ments, by taking their produce, of which he run several flat 
boat loads every year to New Orleans and shipped their tobacco. 
According to the records of the county, about one-tenth of all 
the lands of Warrick County has passed through his hands. 

During his business career he had frequently to hire from 
three to seven clerks, of whom the following may be named : 
His brother, Cadwell Phelps, who about two years after, com- 
menced business at Boonville, in which he was successful ; 
Henry Williams, Neely Johnson — afterward Governor of Cali- 
fornia — Albert Hazen, Smith Hazen Isaac Adams, Union Bethel 
John DeArmona, Tillman Bethel, D. B. Hazen, Robert Hall; 
most of whom are living and doing well. During his business 
in Evansville he kept liquor for sale ; but on commencing in 
Newburgh, he felt it was time to abandon it. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 211 

In 1834 lie made a profession of religion. In 1837 he built 
the first church in the town and county, fitting it all up in good 
order for services, donating it to the Cumberland Presbyterian 
Church ; which house was afterward donated to the Indiana 
Presbytery for school purposes, which was then named and 
afterward known as Delaney Academy. 

Mr. Phelps has been associated with many of Evansville's 
most noted improvements. He has been known as an intelli- 
gent laborer for the many railroad and other projects of the 
past, whose histories are related elsewhere, and is to-day as 
earnest as of yore in the advocacy of any improvements for the 
building up of Evansville and this section. 

Possessing a warm and sympathetic nature, his labors for the 
poor, and his generous gifts to the needy and oppressed, have 
obtained for him a wide-spread reputation as a practical philan- 
thropist. 



Rev. J. W. Youngblood. 



J^Si) EV. J. W. YOUNGBLOOD was a South Carolinian by 
v^jmtJFf) birth, having been born in the Abbeville District, in 
1796, and is now in his 77th year. His parents were Samuel 
and Jane Youngblood. The father was an old Revolutionary 
soldier, and suffered much in that war, often being robbed and 
plundered by the tories. There were ten children in the family, 
seven sons and three daughters, most of them living to be grown , 
our subject being the eighth one of the family. The mother 
died when he was about twelve years old, and his father then 
broke up housekeeping, leaving his children without the kindly 
influences of a living mother. They had no education, for 
their father was poor and in a slave country, where the common 
class had little opportunity to better their condition. Under- 
standing these disadvantages, and hearing of the new territories 
opened up to emigration, the father concluded to bring our sub- 
ject and his youngest brother to Tennessee to live among some 
acquaintances and some kinsfolk. They left South Carolina 



212 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

with only one horse for the three, came through the State of 
Georgia, where they stopped a short time to recruit, they then 
turned through the Cherokee country, and had an opportunity 
of seeing a great number of these Indians every day. They 
were generelly friendly when they were not drinking, but when 
intoxicated could not be trusted. Rev. Youngblood calls up 
often to his friends many incidents that happened as the party 
passed through this nation. His father was quite a hunter and 
had got a large bell to put on their horse, so that when camp- 
ing out they would take a couple of hickory withes and plait 
them together and make what was called hopples and fasten 
the bell upon the horse for the night. Game was plenty in the 
nation, and the father had brought his rifle with him and would 
often give his sons the large bell to rattle along the road, while 
he would look for a deer through the bruth. One day as they 
were rattling the bell along the road, the father stayed out 
hunting for so long a time that the boys became uneasy lest 
something had befallen him, and they concluded to turn back. 
Being alarmed, they continued to ring the bell and commenced 
shouting at the top of their voices. The noise soon gathered a 
large crowd of Indians and one of them spoke to the boys very 
roughly, and wanted to know what they meant by so much fuss. 
They were quieted, however, as soon as the lads were able to 
explain their situation. 

Their journey proceeded, and they entered the State of 
Tennessee sume time in August, 1811, where they remained 
about one year, and then came to Kentucky, staying there also 
about a year. 

At this time the subject of our sketch came to Indiana 
Territory, this part of the country at that time being very thinly 
settled, but the people were very friendly, and dependant much 
on each other, the rules of good neighbors being observed very 
generally. 

The face of the country resembled, however, a wilderness, 
the Indian moccasin tracks had hardly disappeared. The game 
such as bear, deer, elk, wolves and panthers, were in great 
abundance, and their meat served largely to feed the people. 

About the Fall of 1813, our subject came to this section and 
was married September 21st, 1815, to Ann Musgrave, the cer- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 213 

emouy being probably one of the earliest ones performed in our 
immediate vicinity. 

Eleven children were born to them, one daughter only dy- 
ing in infancy, the rest growing up to be heads of families, and 
all but three are still living. 

It may be interesting to the reader to know how the people 
managed to live in this country at that early day. Of course 
they were comparatively poor and moneyless. They did not 
live so fast nor so extravagant as they do at the present time. 

There were no mills and every man made his own mill and 
ground his own meal, and baked his own bread, sometimes in 
the ashes, and sometimes on a board before the fire, and again 
in what we called a " dutch oven." And no complaints against 
fortune went up from their rude tents 

For clothing, they exchanged their merchandize, transport- 
ed by pack horses to the Cotton States, where they purchased 
the cotton, brought it back with them, and the women would 
card, spin and weave it by hand. One of these home-made 
garments would outwear three of the factory work. 

The men in cold weather, dressed in skins of deer and other 
animals, which they were first compelled to kill. 

Buckskin pants were considered elegant. The first time 
our subject ever saw Governor Eatliff Boone he remembers 
that he was dressed in his buckskin hunting apparel. 

There was no church or school house throughout the entire 
region. The people were rough, and the only way they heard 
the gospel in their smoky cabins was when some minister who 
was pioneering in the western wilds would come into their set- 
tlement and assemble a congregation. 

And God often wonderfully blessed the labors of those 
faithful men. These men had much to contend with, for the 
new country was sorely infested with horse-thieves, counterfeit- 
ers and house-breakers. 

Many amusing incidents can be related by our subject in 
regard to the rough pioneer life of these early days; and no 
one can listen to him without feeling a profound reverence for 
this reverend gentleman himself, who, after a life of noble deeds, 
calmly awaits the call of his Master. 



214 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

No one is more eloquent and sanguine than he, in regard 
to the progress of our country, the clearing of a wilderness and 
the cultivation of the soil ; the building of churches ; the estab- 
lishing Sabbath Schools for the benefit of the young. The rise 
and progress in the arts and sciences, even during the last half 
century ; from all the inconveniences of the early days, he has 
lived to see railroads, steamboats, and the electric telegraph. 

The life of this worthy gentleman is so intimately con- 
nected with the hardships of a by-gone generation, that a de- 
scription, as given, was necessary, in order that the reader could 
properly appreciate trials. After his father had settled his boys 
in Tennessee, he left them to their fate and returned to Caro- 
lina, where, while settling up his business, he died. Shortly 
after his marriage our subject joined the Methodist Episcopal 
Church, and not very long afterwards the church gave him au- 
thority to preach ; and for some forty years he has labored 
zealously in the cause of Christ, doing much good throughout 
this section. He has often labored with his own hands for his 
support, and never coveted any man's silver and gold, or apparel 
— preaching the Truth, as it is in Jesus. 

He is now the last one of the old ministers that is yet liv- 
ing Almost all of the old settlers who were living when he 
began his ministerial labors have died or removed to distant 
lands ; but the reputation of Rev. J. W. Youngblood, for kind- 
ness to the poor, for generosity to his fellow-men, as well as bis 
fervent piety and devotion to the cause of his Master, will never 
be forgotten. 



The Social Experiment at IV ew Harmony. 



By Kobebt Dale Owen. 



*N the Summer of 1824 there came to Braxfield a gentle- 
man whose visit to us there determined, in great meas- 
ure, the course oi my future life. 

Richard Flower, an experienced English agriculturist, possessed 
of considerable means, had emigrated, some years before, to the 
United States, and had settled at Albion, in the southeastern 
part of Illinois, and about twenty-five miles from a German vil- 
lage founded by emigrants from the Kingdom of Wurtemberg 
schismatics of the Lutheran Church, led by their pastor George 
Eapp. These people came 10 America in 1804, settling first on 
the waters of Conequenessing, Pennsylvania ; afterwards, namely 
in 1813, on # the Lower Wabash River and about fifteen miles 
from the town of Mount Vernon on the Ohio. There they pur- 
chased thirty thousand acres chiefly government land, and 
erected a village containing about a hundred and sixty buildings, 
one half brick or frame, the other half of logs. They held it 
to be a religious duty to imitate the piimitive Christians, who 
" had all things in common ";* to conform to St, Paul's opinion 
that celibacy is better than marriage ;f and desiring also to be 
like the early disciples, " of one heart and of one soul,"| they 
called their little town Hmmonie. 

Their experiment was a marvellous success in a pecuniary 
point of view; for at the time of their immigration their prop- 
erty did not exceed twenty-five dollars a head, while in twenty- 
one years — to-wit, in 1825 — a fair estimate gave them two 
thousand dollars for each person — man, woman, and child ; 

"Acts iv. 32. The laud was entered in the names of the entire community; and was 
conveyed by Kapp, under a Dower of attorney from tliem to my father, 
tl Corinthians, vii. 8, They lived together as the Shakers do. 
i Acts iv. 3. 



216 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

probably ten times the average wealth throughout the United 
States ; for at that time each person in Indiana averaged but a 
hundred and fifty dollars of property, and even in Massachu- 
setts the average fell short of three hundred dollars for each 
adult and child. Intellectually and socially, however, it was 
doubtless a failure ; as an ecclesiastical autocracy, especially 
when it contravenes an important law of nature, must eventu- 
ally be. Rapp was absolute ruler, assuming to be such in virtue 
of a divine call ; and it was said, probably with truth, that he 
desired to sell out at Harmonie, because life there was getting 
to be easy and quiet, with leisure for thought ; and because he 
found it difficult to keep his people in order, except during the 
bustle and hard work which attend a new settlement. At all 
events he commisioned Mr. Flower to offer the entire Harmony 
property for sale. 

The offer tempted my father. Here was a village ready 
built, a territory capable of supporting tens of thousands in a 
country where the expression of thought was free, and where 
people were unsophisticated. I listened with delight to Mr. 
Flower's account of a frontier life ; and when, one morning, my 
father asked me, " Well, Rabert, what say you — New Lanark 
or Harmony ? " I answered, without hesitation, "Harmony." 
Aside from the romance and the novelty, I think oile prompting 
motive was, that if our family settled in Western America it 
would facilitate my marriage with Jessie. 

Mr. Flower could not conceal from us his amazement, say- 
ing to me, F remember, " Does your father really think of giv- 
ing up a position like his, with every comfort and luxury, and 
taking his family to the wild life of the Far West ? " He did 
not know that my father's one ruling desire was for a vast the- 
atre on which to try his plan of social reform. Robert Owen 
thought he had found one ; crossed the Atlantic — taking my 
brother William with him, and leaving me manager of the mills 
— in the Autumn of 1824; completed, in April, 1825, the pur- 
chase, for a hundred and fifty thousand dollars, of the Rapp 
village and twenty thousand acres of land ; and in the course 
of the Summer some eight hundred people had flocked in. in 
accordance with a public invitation given by him to " the indus- 
rious and well disposed " of all nations and creeds. Every dwel- 
ling house was filled. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 217 

The purchase, though not judicious merely as a pecuniary 
investment, seeing that the estate lay in an interior nook of the 
country, off any main line of travel, actual or projected, and 
on a river navigable for steamers during a few months in the 
year only, was eligible enough for my father's special purpose. 
The land around the village, of which three thousand acres 
were under cultivation, was of the richest quality of alluvial 
soil, level but above the highest water-mark, and in good farm- 
ing order. This valley-land was surrounded by a semicircular 
range of undulating hills, rising sixty or seventy feet above the 
plain below, and sweeping round about half a mile from the 
village on its southern side. On a portion of these hills where 
the descent was steep were vineyards in full bearing, covering 
eighteen acres and partly terraced. On the west, where this 
range of hills increased in height, is terminated abruptly on a 
" cut-off" of the Wabash River, which afforded water-power 
used to drive a large flour-mill ; and near by, on the precipi- 
tous hillside, was a quarry of freestone. Across the cut-off was 
an island containing three thousand acres, affording excellent 
woods pasture. 

The village had been built on the bottom land, quarter of 
a mile from the river. Seen from the brow of the hill-range as 
one approached it from Mount Vernon it was picturesque 
enough literally embowered in trees, rows of black locusts mark- 
ing the street lines. Several large buildings stood out above 
the foliage, of which a spacious cruciform brick hall the trans- 
cept a hundred and thirty feet across, was the chief. There 
wa3 also a church, a steam mill, a woolen factory, and several 
large boarding-houses. The private dwellings were small, each 
in a separate garden-spot. Adjoining the village on the south 
were extensive apple and peach orchards. 

When my father first reached the place, he found among 
the Germans — its sole inhabitants — indications of plenty and 
material comfort, but with scarcely a touch of fancy or orna- 
ment ; the only exceptions being a few flowers in the gardens, 
and what was called " The Labyrinth," a pleasure-ground laid 
out near the village with some taste, and intended — so my 
father was told — as an emblematic representation of the life 
these colonists had chosen. It contained small groves and gar- 

28 



218 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

dens, with numerous circuitous walks enclosed by high beech 
hedges and bordered with flowering shrubbery, but arranged 
with such intricacy that, without some Dsedalus to furnish a 
clew, one might wander for hours and fail to reach a building 
erected in the center. Tbis was a temple of rude material, but 
covered with vines of the grape and convolvulus, and its inte- 
rior neatly fitted up and prettily furnished. Thus George Rapp 
had sought to shadow forth to his followers the difficulties of 
attaining a state of peace and social harmony. The perplexing 
approach, the rough exterior of the shrine, and the elegance 
displayed within were to serve as types of toil and suffering, 
succeeded by happy repose. 

The toil and suffering had left their mark, however, on the 
grave, stolid, often sad German faces. They looked well fed, 
warmly clothed — my father told me — and seemed free from 
anxiety. The animal had been sufficiently cared for; and that 
is a good deal in a world where millions can hardly keep the 
wolf from the door, drudge as they will, and where hundreds 
of millions, manage as they may, live in daily uncertainty 
whether, in the next week or month — chance of work or means 
of living failing — absolute penury may not fall to their lot. A 
shelter from life-wearying cares is something ; but a temple typ- 
ifies higher things — more than what we shall eat and what we 
shall drink and wherewithal we shall be clothed. Knapp's dis- 
ciples had bought these too dearly, — at expense of heart and 
soul. They purchased them by unquestioning submission to an 
autocrat who had been commissioned — perhaps as he really be- 
lieved, certainly as he alleged — by God himself. He bade them 
do this and that, and they did it ; required them to say, as the 
disciples in Jerusalem said, that none of the things they pos- 
sessed were their own, and they said it; commanded them to 
forego wedded life in all its incidents, and to this also they 
assented. 

Their experiment afforded conclusive proof that, if a com- 
munity of persons are willing to pay so high a price for abund- 
ant food, clothing, shelter and absolute freedom from pecuniary 
cares, they can readily obtain all this, working leisurely under 
a system of common labor, provided the dictator to whom they 
submit is a good br.siness manager. The success of the Rapp- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 219 

ites, such as it was, wonderfully encouraged my father. He 
felt sure that he could be far more successful than they, without 
the aid either of bodily and mental despotism or of celibacy. 
Aside from rational education, which he deemed indispensable, 
he trusted implicitly, as cure for all social and industrial ills, to 
the principle of co-operation. 

There was much in the economical condition of England 
to lead a mind like my father's, accustomed to generalizations, 
and imbued with sanguine confidence in whatever he desired, to 
such a conclusion ; and, unless I here devote a page or two to 
a succinct statement — -in mere outline it must be — of the mam 
statistical facts whicn go to make up that strange and unprece- 
dented condition, I shall leave my readers without a clew to the 
motives which caused a successful business man like my father 
to relinquish wealth, domestic ease, affluent comforts, and an 
influential position, and to adventure, with a faith which admit- 
ted not even the possibility of failure, an untried experiment 
on an unknown field, then little better than a wilderness. 

As a large manufacturer, much cogent evidence bearing on 
that condition had been brought home to him. Ten years 
before, Colquhoun had published his work on the Eesources of 
the British Empire, and that had supplied important additional 
data. 

My father felt that there was then — as there is now — one 
of the great problems of the age still to be solved : I can here 
but briefly state, not seek to solve it. It connects itself with 
the unexampled increase of productive power which human 
beings in civilized life have acquired in little more than a single 
century, and with the momentous question whether this vast 
gift of labor-saving inventions is to result in mitigation of the 
toil and melioration of the condition of the millions who have 
acquired it. Few persons realize the extent of this modern 
agency, the changed state of things it has brought about, or the 
effect of its introduction, so far, upon the masses, especially in 
European countries. 

From certain Parliamentary reports made in 1815, in con- 
nection with Sir Robert Peel's Factory Bill (already alluded 
to), my father derived data in proof that the machinery em- 
ployed in Great Britain in cotton-spinning alone — in one branch, 



220 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

therefore, of one manufacture — superseded at that time the 
labor of eighty million adults ; and he succeeded in proving, to 
the satisfaction of England's ablest statistician,* that if all the 
branches of the cotton, woolen, flax, and silk manufactures 
were included, the machine-saved labor it producing English 
textile fabrics exceeded in those days, the work which two hun- 
dred millions of operatives could not have turned out previous 
to the year 1760. 

This statement of my father's attracted the attention of the 
British political economists of that day, was virtually adopted 
by them soon after, and became, as these vast inanimate powers 
increased, the foundation of successive calculations touching 
their aggregate amount in all branches of industry carried on in 
Great Britain and Ireland. In 1835 my father put down that 
aggregate as equal to the labor of four hundred million adults ; 
and estimates by recent English statisticians, brought up to the 
present time, vary from five hundred to seven hundred millions. 
We may safely assume the mean of these estimates — six hun- 
dred millions — as closely approximating the truth to-day. 

But the population of the world is, in round numbers, 
twelve hundred millions ; and the usual estimate of the pro- 
ductive manual labor of a country is, that it does not exceed 
that of a number of adult workmen equal to one fourth of its 
population. Thus, the daily labor of three hundred million 
abults represents the productive manual power of the world. 

It follows that Great Britain and Ireland's labor saving 
machinery equals in productive action, the manual labor power 
of two world i as populous as this. 

It follows, further, inasmuch as the present population of 
the British Isles is less than thirty millions, that seven millions 
and a half of adults represent the number of living operatives 
who control and manipulate that prodigious amount of inani- 
mate force. 

Thus, in aid of the manual labor of seven and a half mill- 
ions of human workmen, Great Britain may be said to have 
imported, from the vast regions of invention, six hundred 

*Colquhoun, whose celebrated work on a cognate subject is above referred to. See, 
for Robert Owen's conversation with Colquhoun on this subject, his (Owen's) autobiog- 
raphy, p. 127. 




Corner Mulburry and Second Streets, 
Erected 1873. 

BY THE 

VINE STREET PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, - Rev. C. B. H. Martin, Pastor. 



ROBERT BOYD. Architect. 

CONTRACTORS : 
Brick Work and Slating, - - Win. Bedford, Jr. Stone Work, .... AlbsckerA Caden. 
Carpenter uud Joiner, - - - Thomas Eaton. Galvanized Iron and Tin Work, J. B. Meskei . 

BUILDING COMMITTEE : 
Wm E. Fbench, N. M. Goodlett, L. Ruffner, Jb. 

FINANCE COMMITTEE : 
Sam'l M Archer, Cyprian Preston, Wm. G. Brown. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 221 

millions of powerful and passive slaves ; slaves that consume 
neither food nor clothing ; slaves that sleep not, weary not 
sicken not ; gigantic slaves that drain subterranean lakes in 
their master's service, or set in motion, at a touch from his 
hand, machinery under which the huge and solid buildings that 
contain it groan and shake; ingenious slaves that outrival, in 
the delicacy of their operations, the touch of man, and put to 
shame the best exertions of his steadiness and accuracy ; yet 
slaves, patient, submissive, obedient, from whom no rebellion 
need be feared, who cannot suffer cruelty nor experience pain. 

These unwearying and inanimate slaves outnumber the 
human laborers who direct their operations as eighty to one. 
What is the result of this importation ? 

If we shut our closet doors and refuse to take the answer 
from the state of things as it actually exists, we shall probably 
say that inestimable aid, thus sent down from Heaven as it 
were, to stand by and assist man in his severest toils, must have 
rendered him in easy circumstances, rich in all the necessaries 
and comforts of life, a master instead of a slave, a being with 
leisure for enjoyment and improvement, a free man, delivered 
from the original curse which declared that in the sweat of his 
brow should man eat bread all the days of his life . But if 
rejecting mere inference, we step out among the realities 
around us, with eyes open and sympathies awake, we shall see, 
throughout the Old "World, the new servants competing with 
those they might be made to serve. We shall see a contest 
going on in the market of labor, between wood and iron on the 
one hand, and human thews and sinews on the other ; a dread- 
ful contest, at which humanity shudders, and reason turns as- 
tonished away. We shall see masters engaging, as the cheapest 
most docile, and least troublesome help,§ the machine instead 
of the man. And we shall see the man, thus denied even the 
privilege to toil, shrink home, with sickening heart to the cellar 
where his wife and children herd, and sink down on its damp 
floor to ask of his despair where these things shall end, — wheth- 
er the soulless slaves, bred year by year from the teeming 

5 "The self-acting mule has the important advantage of rendering the mill owners 
independant of the combinations and strikes of the working spinners." — Baine's Cotton 
Manufacture, p. 207. 



222 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

womb of science, shall gradually thrust aside, into idleness and 
starvation their human competitors, until the laborer, like other 
extinct races of animals, shall perish from the earth. 

I have made a special study of the statistical facts which 
go to justify more than all I here assert. But the limits of 
this narrative allow me to give only a condensed abstract of the 
results. 

For two centuries after the Conquest, feudal oppressions 
and intestine wars grievously oppressed British labor. At any 
moment the serf might be taken from the plough to arm in his 
liege lord's quarrel ; and if, spite of all such interruptions, the 
seed was sown and the harvest ripened, the chance remained 
that it might be cut down by the sword of the forager or tram- 
pled under the hoof of the war-horse. Nothing is more charac- 
teristic than the Borderer's account of an ancient raid, in Scott's 
Lay: — 

" They crossed the Liddell at curfew hour, 
And burnt my little lonely tower. 
The fiend receive their souls therefor : 
It had n't been burnt this year or more!" 

The peasantry, or rather villeinry, of those days — many of 
them thralls — had the scantiest wages, often mere food and 
clothing, living miserably. But during Edward the Third's 
wars with France, he was compelled to manumit many bonds- 
men, in order to recruit his armies; and the forced services of 
villeinage were gradually exchanged for free labor, often fixed 
by statute. In the middle of the fourteenth century, common 
labor on a farm was set at three pence half penny a day ; in 
harvest, four pence. But at that time wheat did not exceed 
six pence a bushel, and other staple articles of food were in 
proportion. So in the fifteenth century, harvest wages were 
five pence, and wheat was seven pence halfpenny a bushel. 
With all this accords what Sir John Cullum, the English anti- 
quarian (quoted as reliable authority by Hallam), tells us, 
namely, that in the fourteenth century a week's wages in har- 
vest enabled the laborer to buy four bushels of wheat. The 
weekly wages of common farm labor, however, throughout the 
year, were the equivalent of three bushels of wheat only. This 
last may be safely assumed as the purchasing power of ordinary 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 223 

farm labor in England four hundred and five hundred years 
ago. 

After many fluctuations, weekly wages of ordinary labor 
settled down, in the middle of the eighteenth century, to about 
a bushel and a half of wheat. f By the middle of the present 
century a common farm laborer could purchase, with his eight 
shillings for a week's work, but one bushel of wheat. Since 
then wages have slowly risen ; and to-day a farm laborer, with 
nine and sixpence to ten shillings a week, can earn a bushel and 
a quarter of wheat. 

Though, for brevity's sake I have here confined the compari- 
son to staple bread-stuff alone, I have verified the fact that it 
applies equally to other articles of common use or necessity. In 
the fiteenth century a week's labor bought sixty-four pounds of 
butchers' meat ; now it will hardly purchase nineteen. So, in- 
stead of ten geese, three would now absorb a week's labor ; 
instead of a sheep a week, a laborer must toil four weeks for a 
single sheep. Again, a day's wages will now buy, not eight 
dozen of eggs, as then it did, but three dozen ; not eight pounds 
of cheese, but three, not five pounds of butter, but two. Even 
in some staple articles of clothing, the balance is against the 
peasant of to-day. Three day's labor will now hardly procure 
him the stout pair of shoes which a single day formerly paid 
for ; and nine day's labor instead of six, are needed to obtain 
the material for a winter coat, that is, if a farm laborer should 
be extravagant enough to buy coarse broadcloth for such a 

purpose. 

Labor in factories is somewhat better paid than farm labor ; 
adult operatives receiving from nine to eleven shillings a week 
when fully employed. But there are thousands, weavers and 
others in every manufacturing district, who have only occasional 
work at home and live in squallid wretchedness, — wretchedness 
that has often but five cents a day to keep each human body 
and soul together,;}; — wretchedness that terribly shortens life. 

fSee table of wages and prices from 1 813 back to 1495, by Barton, in his Enquiry into 
the Depreciation of Labor. 

tin Minutes of Evidence before a Select Committee of the llouse of Commons 
1833, M r. William Stocks, secretary of a committee of factory owners, deposed to certain 
facts obtaiued and verified by tb - ilt committee during visits to the cottages of laborers 
In and around Iluddersfleld, thus summing up the results : " We found 13,226 individ- 



224 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Another most significant fact is, that whereas, three hun- 
dred years ago, the poor-law system of England scarcely existed, 
my father found one in ten of all the inhabitants of Great Brit- 
ain a pauper, receiving parish relief.§ Without the English 
poor-laws, there would long since have been wholesale starva- 
tion among those able and willing to work, and, probably a re- 
bellion instigated by despair. 

With all the foregoing data tallies an estimate made by 
Hallam, in his History of the Middle Ages, of the relative 
value of money ; which is, that any given sum in the fourteenth 
century must be multiplied by twenty, and in the fifteenth cen- 
tury by sixteen, to bring it to the standard of our day. If so 
then the common laborer's wages in the fourteenth and fifteenth 
centuries were equivalent to five shillings of the modern En- 
glish currency per day, or to thirty shillings per week ; at least 
three times as much as such a laborer receives at present. 

But to guard against possible exaggeration, let us deduct 
one third from this result ; and the startling fact still forces it- 
self on our attention, that the working-classes employed in 
tilling the garden soil of Great Britain, or in tending her mag- 
nificent machinery, receive now, as the price of their toil, but 
one half as much as their rude ancestors did five centuries ago. 

As cure for such evil and suffering, my father found the 
political economists urging a reduction of taxes. But his ex- 
perience taught him to regard that as a mere temporary pallia- 
tive. The very reduction of government burdens might be 

uals that averaged two pence halfpenny (five cents) per day to live on. That sum inclu- 
ded all parish relief ; and it was not wholly applicable to meat and drink, for they had 
rent and everything to pay out of it, including wear and tear of looms " Minutes of 
Evidence, July 28. and August 3, 1833 

The Report of the Liverpool Branch of the Anti-Corn-Law League for 1833 shows a 
similar state of wholesale misery. It states that "in Vauxhall Ward, Liverpool, con- 
taining in all 6,000 families, or 24,000 souls, the number of 3,4(5.2 families had but two 
pence halfpenny (five cents) per individual to live on." 

§In our manufacturing districts every eleventh inhabitant, and in our agricultural 
counties every eighth inhabitant, receives parish relief. But this by no means represents 
the whole mass of suffering. The horror of being branded as a pauperis so prevalent 
among the industrial population, that thousands prefer death by gradual starvation, to 
placing themselves on the parish funds." — Report of Liverpool Branch of the Anti- 
Corn-Law League, 1833. 

These calculations are, however, for the middle of the present century. Wages hav- 
ing since risen twenty or twenty-five per cent., the proportion of paupers is considerably 
less to-day. 



Evansvtlle and its Men of Mark. 225 

taken as an all sufficient plea for the further reduction of wages. 
Labor could be afforded for less. And down to the very point 
at which it can be afforded, — which means at that point on the 
road to famine at which men are not starved suddenly, but die 
slowly of toil inadequately sustained by scanty and unwhole- 
some food, — down to that point of bare subsistence my father 
saw the laborer of Britain thrust. How ? Wherefore ? By 
what legerdemain of cruelty and injustice? 

Thus the problem loomed upon him. We may imagine 
his reflections. Why, as the world advances in knowledge and 
power, do the prospects and the comforts of the mass of man- 
kind darken and decline ? How happens it that four or five 
centuries have passed over Britain, bringing peace where raged 
feuds and forays, affording protection to person and property, 
setting free the shackled press, spreading intelligence and liber- 
ality, reforming religion and fostering civilization, — how happens 
it that these centuries of improvement have left the British 
laborer twofold more the slave of toil than they found him ? 
Why must mechanical inventions — inevitable even if they were 
mischievous, and in themselves a rich blessing as surely as they 
are inevitable — stand in array against the laborer, instead of 
toiling by his side. 

Momentous questions these ! My father pondered them 
day and night. If he had tersely stated the gist of his reflec- 
tions — which he was not always able to do — they might have 
assumed some such form as this : Will any mac, who stands on 
his reputation for sanity, affirm that the necessary result of 
over-production is famine ? That because labor produces more 
than even luxury can waste, labor shall not have bread to eat? 
If we can imagine a point in the progres of improvement at 
which all the necessaries and comforts of life shall be produced 
without human labor, are we to suppose that the human laborer, 
when that point is reached, is to be dismissed by his masters 
fiom their employment, to be told that he is now a useless in- 
cumbrance which they cannot afford to hire ? 

If such a result be flagrantly absurd in the extreme, it 

was then, and is now, in Great Britain, a terrible reality in the 

degree. Men were told that machines had filled their places 

and that their services were no longer required. Certain En- 

29 



226 Evansville and its Men of Mark, 

glish economists scrupled not to avow the doctrine, that a man 
born into a world already occupied and overstocked with labor 
has no right to claim food ; that such a one is a being super- 
fluous on the earth, and for whom, at the great banquet of na- 
ture, there is no place to be found.f 

My father's conclusions from the data which I have here 
furnished were : 

1. That the enormously increased productive powers which 
man in modern times has acquired, involve, and in a measure 
necessitate, great changes in the social and industrial structure 
of society. 

2. That the world has reached a point of progress at which 
co-operative industry should replace competitive labor. 

3, That society, discarding large cities and solitary homes, 
should resolve itself into associations, each of fifteen hundred 
or two thousand persons, who should own land and houses in 
common and labor for the benefit of the community. In this 
way, he believed, labor-saving power would directly aid, not 
tend to oppress, the workman. 

The first proposition is doubtless true, especially as to old 
countries largely engaged in manufactures ; the question re- 
maining, however, of what character and to what extent the 
changes should be. 

The second proposition is now on trial in England on a 
large scale. Through the kindness of an English friend I have 
before me a report of the Fifth Annual Co-operative Congress, 
held at Newcastle on the 12th, 13th and 14th of last April, and 
which was attended by two hundred delegates from all parts of 
Great Britain and Ireland. | The two most prominent speakers 
were members of Parliament ; namely, the well-known Thomas 
Hughes, author of Tom Brown at Oxford, and Walter Morrison. 

Mr. Hughes introduced the resolution, " That this meeting 
recognizes in co-operation the most effective means of perma- 
nently raising the condition of the people." And Mr. Morrison 

See Malthus, in his Essay on the Principle of Population, But my father believed 
in the axiom put forth by a French historian : ''Avant toutes les lois sociales, l'homme 
avoit le droit de subsister.''- Kaynal, Histoire des Indes, Vol. X, p. 232. 

X Published in the Newcastle Weekly Chronicle of April 19, 1873, and covering twen- 
ty-nine closely printed columns. This paper is larger than the New York Tribune 
and was established in 1764. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 227 

moved the following : " That it is of the essence of co-operation 
to recognize the right of labor to a substantial share in the 
profits it creates." Both resolutions were unanimously adopted- 
Mr. Cowen, chairman of the Congress, said, in opening one 
of its meetings : " I am not an old man. yet I recollect a meet- 
iug which was held in this room thirty years ago. It was ad- 
dressed by the father of co-operative principles in this country, 
Mr. Robert Owen. [Cheers.] To the discredit of some of the 
inhabitants of Newcastle, they brought the meeting to a close 
by breaking the windows and dispersing the audience. They 
refused to listen to the patient and, I may say, affectionate 
appeals which Mr. Owen made to his hearers. We have con- 
siderably advanced since then." 

The experiments then commenced, in the way of co-ope- 
rative stores, failed at that time, probably because the current 
of public opinion set in strongly against them. How great 
the contrast is to-day appears from the statistics, founded on 
Parliamentary documents, which were laid before this Congress. 
One wholesale co-nperative store in Manchester has two hund- 
red and seventy-seven shareholding societies, and has five hund- 
red societies doing business with it ; has a capital of nearly three 
quarters of a million dollars, and its present annual business 
falls but little short of six millions. During eight years past it 
has done business to the amount of twenty millions, and has 
incurred in that period but a single thousand dollars of bad 
debts. Another, the North of England wholesale store, does a 
business varying from a hundred thousand to a hundred and 
forty thousand dollars a week. 

There are in all, throughout England, about a thousand co- 
operative stores, and full returns have been made to Parliament 
by three-fourths of these. These three-fourths had, in 1871, 
two hundred and sixty thousand members; a capital of more 
than twelve and a half millions ; were doing a business of more 
than forty-seven millions a year, with an annual profit of four 
millions, that is, eight and a half per cent, on the capital in- 
vested. 

Besides these stores, English co-operators have engine 
works employing five hundred hands; a mining company, with 
twelve hundred workers ; an industrial bank at Newcastle; 



228 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

linen, cotton, and other factories; corn-mills; a printing soci- 
ety ; an agricultural and horticultural association, with Thomas 
Hughes in its council ; and a Central A.gency Society, with two 
members of Parliament on its committee of management. 

Profiting by the experience of the past, many errors in or- 
ganization and in management have been avoided. At this 
time, with some twenty millions of capital employed, these co- 
operative enterprises are, with scarcely an exception, a pecuni- 
ary success. 

As to the third proposition, — the resolving of society into 
small communities of common property — my father resolved to 
test it at New Harmony. I think it was a mistake to change 
the scene of the experiment from England to the United States. 
The average wages of farm labor here amount to a dollar and 
a quarter a day, or seven dollars and a half a week ; and even 
if we put wheat at a dollar and eighty-five cents a bushel, 
which is its price only in our seaboard cities and when it is 
ready for shipment, a week's labor in husbandry will purchase 
four bushels of wheat instead of a bushel and a quarter, as in 
England The need of co-operation or some other protection 
for la'tor may be said to be threefold greater there than here. 

My father made another and a still greater mistake. A 
believer in the force of circumstances and of the instinct of self- 
interest to reform all men, however ignorant or vicious, he ad- 
mitted into his village all comers, without recommendatory 
introduction or any examination whatever. This error was the 
more fatal, because it is in the nature of any novel experiment, 
or any putting forth of new views which may tend to revolu- 
tionize the opinions or habits of society, to attract to ittelf — as 
the Reformation did, three hundred years ago, and as Spiritu- 
alism does to-day — waifs and strays from surrounding society ; 
men and women of crude, ill-considered, extravagant notions ; 
nay, worse, vagrants who regard the latest heresy but a stalk- 
ing-horse for pecuniary gain, or a convenient cloak for immoral 
demeanor. 

He did, indeed, take the precaution of establishing at New 
Harmony, in the first instance, a preliminary society only ; and 
he did refrain from any conveyance of real estate to its mem- 
bers. But he allowed this motley assemblage to elect its own 




ft T MSCOMAS-WSSEL^ 



St. Mary's Catholic Church. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. '229 

Committee of Management, though the constitution of the soci- 
ety vested in him the appointing power. f The constitution was 
laid before the inhabitants, April 27, 1825 ; Robert Owen then, 
for the first time, addressing the inhabitants. It was adopted 
May l.J But my father was able to remain, to watch its pro- 
gress, little more than a month. He departed, early in June, 
for England ; leaving a school of a hundred and thirty children 
who were boarded, clothed, and educated at the public expense. 
As to to the other inhabitants, they received a weekly credit on 
the public store to the amount which their services were, by 
the committee, deemed worth. There was a good band of mu- 
sic ; and the inhabitants, on my father's recommendation, 
resolved to meet together three evenings each week : one to 
discuss all subjects connected with the welfare of the society, 
another for a concert of vocal and instrumental music ; while 
the third was given up to a public ball. 

My father's reception in America had been kind and hospi- 
table ; and he gave us, on his return to Braxfield, a glowing ac- 
count of the favor with which his plans of social reform were 
regarded in the New World, and of the condition of things, 
and the bright promise for the future at New Harmony. I was 
captivated vvith the picture he drew, and embarked with him 
toward the end of September from Liverpool in the packet-ship 
New York, exulting as an Israelite may have exulted when 
Moses spoke to him of the Land of Promise. 

"We had a jovial set of passengers, including the opera 
troupe of the elder Garcia, together with his son Manuel, twenty 
years old, and his two daughters — Maria, then aged seventeen ; 
and Pauline, then only four years old, but who afterwards be- 
came a celebrated singer and actress, and married a Paris jour- 
nalist of some reputation, Monsieur Viardot. She was the pet 
of passengers and crew ;' and I have heard the child reply in 
four languages, with almost equal facility, to remarks in French, 
German, Italian and Spanish, addressed to her, in rapid succes- 
sion, by the members of her father's company. 

t See New Harmony Gazette, Vol 1, page 135. My father recommended four of the 
seven persons who composed the committee ; and these four together with three others, 
were elected by the citizens. 

* A copy of this constitution will be found in New Harmony Gazette, Vol 1, pp. 2, g 



230 Evan-wille and its Men of Mark. 

Her elder sister, Mademoiselle Garcia, afterwards world- 
renowned — her brief career sad indeed in private, but brilliant 
in public to a degree hardly paralleled in the annals of the 
stage — had the previous Spring made a successful debut in Lon- 
don. She was a most interesting girl, simple, frank, bright as 
could be, charming in conversation, a general favorite ; and I 
think that during our somewhat protracted voyage she capti- 
vated the heart of Captain McDonald, a young English officer, 
a great friend and admirer of my father, who had accompanied 
us on our Transatlantic trip. It came to nothing, perhaps, be- 
cause Mc Donald, though a noble, generous fellow, had then lit- 
tle besides his commission to depend on ; but I doubt not she 
would have been far happier as his wife than she afterward tvas 
— poor girl ! — with the reputed rich but bankrupt Malibran. 

Her health seemed feeble, and this may have been due in 
part to the extreme severity with which that terrible Spaniard, 
her father, treated his children, The troupe had frequent re- 
hearsals on deck when the weather was fine, greatly to the de- 
light of the passengers. The only drawback to our pleasure in 
listening to some of the finest voices in the world was the brutal 
manner in which Garcia sometimes berated the singers, but es- 
pecially his son and daughter, when their performance did not 
please him. 

One evening, after a rehearsal at which he had been so 
violent that his daughter seemed in mortal fear of him, she and 
I sat down, on a sofa on deck, to a game of chess. At first she 
appeared almost as lively and bright as usual ; but, ere the game 
ended, she turned deadly pale, her head sunk on my shoulder, 
and had I not caught her in my arms she must have fallen to 
the floor. I carried her down to the cabin, quite insensible, and 
it was some time before she recovered. 

Another day, at the close of a rehearsal, the old man spoke 
in insulting terms to his son, I and other passengers being pres- 
ent. Manuel replied in a respectful, almost submissive tone ; 
yet he earnestly vindicated himself against the charge — of wil- 
tul negligence, I think it was — which his father brought against 
him. This incensed Garcia to such a degree, that he suddenly 
struck his son a blow with his fist so violent that the youth 
dropped on the deck as if shot. We instantly went in search 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 231 

of the captain, telling him what had happened, and he came on 
deck at once, confronting the still enraged father. 

" What is this, sir?" he said, the tone low, but with a 
dangerous ring in it. " Is it true that you dared to knock your 
son down ? " 

The great singer was silent and looked sullen. 

" It is true then ? " The tone rose a little, and the eyes 
flashed ; we saw there was mischief in them. " Do you know, 
sir," he went on, " that I am master here — ruler in my own 
ship — with the right to do whatever I please, if it is necessary 
to protect my passengers either from insult or injury ? Do you 
know that sir ? " 

Still no answer. 

" Do you see these men ? " pointing to some sailors who 
were looking on at a distaace with eyes of curiosity. "A single 
word from me and they '11 seize you on the spot ! But I don't 
want a fuss on board my ship. This time I '11 pass it by. But 
now attend to what I say ; you had better, for your own sake. 
If you lay a finger again on a single passenger here — on your 
son, on your daughter, or on any other soul on board — I'll have 
you below in irons, sir — in irons! Do you understand that ?" 

He did understand, and he was fairly cowed at last. He 
muttered an unintelligible excuse ; and the captain, turning 
away, issued some common-place order to the mate, as quietly 
as if nothing had happened. 

From that day forth, though Garcia still scolded and grum- 
bled, he used, in our hearing, no insulting language, nor com- 
mitted any other violent act. To us, when nothing crossed his 
will or went wrong, he was polite and even obliging. We 
amused^ourselves throughout the somewhat tedious voyage by 
getting out a weekly newspaper — quite a creditable production 
it was — and in its last number appeared a song, the words by 
one of our party, Mr. Stedman Whitwell, a London architect, 
and a convert to my father's views ; the music, graceful and 
spirited, by Garcia. It was afterwards published in New York 
under the title of Ebor Nova, and had quite a run ; for the 
Garcias won for themselves quite a reputation. 

Our pleasant voyage came to an end November 7, 1825 — 
the day on which I was twenty-four years old. New York's 



232 Evamville and its Men of Mark. 

magnificent bay, its surface just stirred by a gentle breeze, and 
dotted all over with white sails — signs of a busy and enterpris- 
ing nation — while beyond, the city's hundred spires shot up 
white in the sunshine of a fresh autumn morning — all this, as I 
came upon it after the even tenor of a long ocean voyage, out- 
went whatever I had imagined of New World scenery. I had 
reached the Canaan of my hopes, and its first glimpse was beau- 
tiful even beyond my dreams. I landed, as in vision of the 
night one enters fairy-land. 

Our first letters of introduction brought us into contact 
with a people genial and magnetic, who seemed to me, as to 
temperament, to occupy middle ground between the distant 
conventionality of my own countrymen and the light vivacity 
of the French. I liked them from the first, and with a youth- 
ful precipitancy, which, however, I have never repented, I went 
at once to a prothonotary's office and declared my intention to 
become a citizen of the United States. 

That was nearly forty-eight years ago. Kindly, indulg- 
ently, has my adopted country treated me since ; and well do 
I love her for it. 

She has her peculiarities, of course, like other nations ; 
and it was not long before we came in contact with some of 
these. Martin Luther is said to have had his latter years em- 
bittered, perhaps his life shortened, by certain crotchety and 
ill-conditioned fanatics, as the Anabaptists, Libertines, and 
others, " who played such fantastic tricks before high heaven " 
as brought the name of Protestant, which they had assumed, 
into no little discredit for the time. A radical reformer, if he 
be of any note, commonly attracts around him erratics of this 
class ; and my father did not escape the common fate. 

One morning he had gone out on a visit, leaving Captain 
McDonald and myself in a parlor of the Howard House in Broad- 
way — where we had put up — writing letters home, when awaiter 
entering, handed me a strange-looking visiting card, with the 
message, " A gentleman to see your father, sir. I told him he 
was out, but he would have me bring up this card." It was of 
green pasteboard, and bore the single name, " Page." I bade 
him invite Mr. Page to walk up. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 233 

" A singular fancy," said I to McDonald, " to color visit- 
ing cards green. But, of course, in new countries, we must 
expect new fashions." 

Thereupon the door opened, and there stalked in, in a 
solemn way, a middle-aged personage, quite as queer-looking as 
his card. He was dressed, from head to foot, in light-green 
broadcloth ; his overcoat, cut with a plain Quaker collar, reached 
his ankles ; his cap and boots were of green cloth, and his 
gloves of green kid, all matching the rest of his costume. His 
long hair was divided in the center and dropped, slightly curl- 
ing, on his shoulders. 

McDonald and I were so taken aback by this sudden appa- 
rition, that we forgot to offer our visitor a chair. He seemed 
to prefer standing, as about to declaim. His manner was dig- 
nified, and his gestures had a certain grace, as he proceeded to 
say : "Gentlemen, I have come, in my public capacity, to wel- 
come a brother philanthropist. But you do not know who I 
am." 

To this we assented, and he went on, "My name is Page. 
I am the page of Nature. She has enlisted me in her service. 
I wear her livery as, you see," (pointing to his dress), "as a re- 
minder of the official duty I owe her. She talks to me, instructs 
me in the way I should go, and tells me how I can best benefit 
my fellow creatures. In the olden time I was King David's 
page ; and I was a great comfort to him, as he had been to his 
master, Saul, when the evil spirit from the Lord was upon him, 
and when David's playing on the harp refreshed Saul and 
caused the evil spirit to depart. David had his dark hours 
also, when his sins weighed upon his spirit ; and at those times 
I was able to console and encourage him. But Nature's service 
is better than that of any king." 

We were mute with amazement. He paused, then drew 
from a capacious pocket a thick roll of manuscript. It was 
written on long sheets of green paper. 

" Some of the words of wisdom," he pursued, " that my 
gracious mistress has vouchsafed to commit to her votary. They 
ought to have been written in green ink ; but to human eyes 
the words might not have been very intelligible. And black 
cannot be said to be inappropriate. In summer holiday, indeed, 

30 



234 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Nature's vestment is green ; but she has her seasons when all 
is black — the starless midnight hour, the wintry storm's murky 
darkness. That may justify the black ink." 

He unrolled and smoothed out the manuscript ; but reading 
in our faces, perhaps, the alarm which we certainly felt at the 
threatened infliction, he seemed to change his purpose ; and with 
the air of a father making allowance for his thoughtless chil- 
dren, he said : " Young people have not always leisure or in- 
clination to hear divine truth. Hand these leaves from the 
Great Book to Robert Owen ; for he is a disciple of Nature, like 
me, and he will appreciate them." 

With that, having bowed ceremoniously to us both, he 
swept slowly and majestically from the room. 

McDonald sat looking intently at the fire for a minute or 
two after the door closed, then suddenly turned to me : "Are we 
all crazy, do you think, Robert ? Have we been poking into 
great subjects and thinking of a world's reform, until our brains 
are addled, and we are fit inmates of a lunatic asylum ?" 

" Well," said I, '• We knew already that there are harmless 
bedlamites who are suffered to go at large. We still dress like 
other people. We have not come to the conclusion yet, that 
the Goddess of Nature keeps a lot of pages to whom she dictates 
homilies to be written out on green foolscap ; and we are not 
Hythagoreans, believing that our souls were once in the service 
of ancient kings." 

" For all that," replied McDonald, " it's uncomfortable ; it 
gives one a shock." 

The manuscript, like a hundred others which it has been 
my hard fortune since to glance over, was a dull tissue of senti- 
mental commonplaces, with mad streaks through it, but with a 
certain method in the madness. The author had sense enough 
to give his addrese at the close, and we carefully returned it to 
him. 

In the course of two or three weeks several pleasant and 
intelligent people had joined us, bound for New Harmony ; 
among them Thomas Say, one of the founders of the Academy 
of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, who six years before had 
accompanied Major Long on his expedition to the Rocky Moun- 
tains, as its naturalist ; Charles Lesueur, a French naturalist 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 235 

and designer, who had explored, with Peron, the coasts of Aus- 
tralia ; Gerard Troost, a native of Hollond and a distinguished 
chemist and geologist, who was afterwards professor of chemis- 
try in the Nashville University ; also several cultivated ladies, 
including Miss Sistare — afterwards the wife of Thomas Say — 
and two of her sisters. Whether William Maclure, president 
of the Philadelphia Academy of Sciences, and one of the most 
munificent patrons of that institution, accompanied us, or came 
on a few weeks later, I am not quite certain. He afterwards 
purchased from my father several thousand acres of the Har- 
mony estate. 

At Pittsburg, which we reached early in December, finding 
that steamboats had ceased to ply on the Ohio, we purchased a 
keel-boat and had it comfortably fitted up for the accommoda- 
tion of our party, then amounting to some thirty or forty per- 
sons. About eight miles from Beaver, Pennsylvania, the ice 
closing in upon us, arrested our voyage for a full month. 

During that month, immensely to my satisfaction, I took 
my first lessons in Western country wood-craft. A dense, al- 
most unbroken forest adjoined the spot where we had tied up 
our boat. I had bought in Pittsburg, an excellent rifle and 
appurtenances, together with a good supply of ammunition. 
The second or third day I came upon the cabin of an old hunter 
of the Leather-stocking school, named Rice, whose good-will I 
gained by the timely gift of a pound or two of excellent rifle 
powder. He taught me the names and qualities of the forest 
trees, the habits and haunts of the game then plentiful enough 
in that district ; but, above all, he trained me to rifle shooting 
with a patience which I yet gratefully remember. Before leav- 
ing home I had read, with enthusiasm, Cooper's Pioneers, and 
now some of the primitive scenes I had pictured to myself were 
enacted before my eyes. The eagerness with which I sought 
instruction, and the manner in which I profited by it, made me 
quite a favorite with the old man, and after a week or two, I 
was domesticated in his cabin. With his wife, also, I found fa- 
vor by telling her stories of the " old country." From her, I 
remember, came my first reminder that I had reached a land of 
practical equality, in which all [white?] adult males, rich or 
poor, were men. I had a handsome silver-mounted powder 



236 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

horn which attracted the attention of one of the half-clad 
urchins who were running about the cabin, and I had ceded it 
for his amusement. He was making off with the coveted play- 
thing out of doors when his mother recalled him, " Here, you, 
George Washington, give the man back his powder-horn." 
Later, I learned the meaning which attaches in the West — fair- 
ly enough, too — to the word gentleman. I was bargaining with 
a young fellow who had agreed to make a few thousand rails to 
repair a fence on one of our farms : and, profiting by Rice's in- 
struction, I warned him that tbey must be of such and such 
timber ; I would accept none of inferior quality ; whereupon 
he said, " Mister, I'm a gentleman, and I wouldn't put any man 
off with bad rails." 

Toward the close of our ice-bound sojourn 1 accompanied 
Rice to a shooting match. He obtained the first prize, and I, 
to his great delight carried off the fourth or fifth, — a wild 
turkey worth twenty five cents. I carried it home in triumph 
to our keel-boat. 

Soon after the middle of January, 1826, we reached Har- 
mony ; but I must delay, until next month, the recital of what 
I found there. — Atlantic. 



My Experience at New Harmony. 




By Robert Dale Owen. 



1EFORE I left England, in 1825, the facts already stated 
connected with the enormously increased power to 
produce, coexisting with the decreased and ever decreasing 
means to live, among the laboring millions in that country, had 
convinced me, not only that something was grievously wrong 
and out of adaptation to the new industrial aspect of things, 
but that the essential remedy for the suffering which I witnessed 
around me was, as my father declared it to be, the substitution 
of Go-operative industry for competitive labor ; and I jumped 




Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 237 

to the conclusion that, under a system of co-operation, men 
would speedily be able, by three or four hours of easy labor 
each day, to supply themselves with all the necessaries and 
comforts of life which reasonable creatures could desire. Nay, 
with Utopian aspirations I looked forward to the time when 
riches, because ol their superfluity, would cease to be the end 
and aim of mun's thoughts, plottings, lifelong toilings ; when 
the mere possession of wealth would no longer confer distinc- 
tion, any more than does the possession of water, than which 
there is no property of greater worth. 

To-day, with half a century of added experience, I think, 
indeed, that invaluable truths underlie these opinions ; but I 
think also that I much erred in judging one branch of a great 
social subject without sufficient reference to other collateral 
branches ; and that I still more gravely erred in leaving out 
of view a main, practical ingredient in all successful changes, 
namely, the element of time. 

The human race, by some law of its being, often possesses 
powers in advance — sometimes ages in advance — of capacity to 
employ them. Alfred Wallace, in a late work on 'Natural Se- 
lection, reminds us that the oldest human skulls yet discovered 
are not materially smaller than those of our own times ; a Swiss 
skull of the stone age corresponds to that of a Swiss youth of 
the present day ; the Neanderthal skull has seventy-five cubic 
inches of brain-space ; and the Engis skull — perhaps the oldest 
known — is regarded by Huxley as " a fair average skull that 
might have belonged to a philosopher." Wallace's inference is 
that man, especially in his savage state, " possesses a brain quite 
disproportionate to his actual requirements — an organ that 
seems prepared in advance only to be fully utilized as he pro- 
gresses in civilization.f 

So also I think it is in regard to man's industrial powers. 
He has acquired these in advance of the capacity to take ad- 

t Contributions to the Theory of Natural Seclection, by Alfred Russell Wallace, au- 
thor of the Malay Archipelago, etc. . London and New York, 1870, p. 343. 

Mr. Wallace acids: " A braiu slightly larger than that of the gorilla — which is thirty 
to thirty-four cubic inches— would, according to evidence before us, have fully sufficed 
lor the mental development of the savage " 

Size of brain is the chief, though not the sole element which determines the mental 
power. An adult male Europeau with less than sixty-five cubic inches of brain is inva- 
riably idiotic. 



238 Evansvllle and its Men of Mark. 

vantage of them, except to a limited extent. The various de- 
partments of human progress must go forward, in a measure, 
side by side. Material, even intellectual, progress brings scanty 
result, unless moral and spiritual progress bear it company. 

I still think it is true that social arrangements can be de- 
vised under which all reasonable necessaries and comforts could 
be secured to a nation, say by three hours' daily work of its 
able-bodied population. But in the present state of moral cul- 
ture, would that result, in this or any civilized country, be a 
benefit ? Would leisure throughout three-fourths of each day 
be a blessing to uneducated or half-educated men ? If such 
leisure were suddenly acquired by the masses, would life and 
property be safe ? Think of the temptations of intemperance 
Some of the reports even from the eight-hour experiment are 
discouraging. 

Then, as to the popular worship of wealth, — characteristic 
of a period of transition or half-civilization,- — that cannot be 
suddenly corrected. The gallants of Queen Elizabeth's day 
sought distinction by the help of rich velvets slashed with sat- 
in, costly laces, trussed points, coats heavy with embroidery. 
It would have been in vain, in those days, to take them to task 
about their finery. It has now disappeared, even to its last lin- 
gering remnant, the lace ruffle at the wrist; but common sense 
had to work for centuries, ere men were satisfied to trust, for 
distinction, to something better than gaudy apparel. 

I still think that co-operation is a chief agency destined to 
quiet the clamorous conflicts between capital and labor; but 
then it must be co-operation gradually introduced, prudently 
managed, as now in England. I think, too, that such co-opera- 
tion, aside from its healthy pecuniary results, tends to elevate 
character. Evidence of this, ever multiplying, comes daily to 
light. I have just received a paper on that subject by Thomas 
Hughes, published in Macmillan's Magazine, in which the writer 
says: " It is impossible to bring before you, in the space I 
have at my disposal, anything like proofs of a tithe of the good 
which the co-operative movement has done ; how it is steadily 
strengthening and purifying the daily lives of a great section of 
our people. From his own observation and that of a Mr. Lud- 
low, who he says, " has had as much experience in this matter 
as any living man," Mr. Hughes states : 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 239 

That the co-operative system, founded scrupulously on 
ready-money dealings, delivers the poor from the credit system. 

That, if a co-operative workshop has elements of vitality 
sufficient to weather the first few years' struggles, it is found to 
expel drunkenness and disorder, as inconsistent with success ; 
to do away with the tricks and dishonesties of work, now fre- 
quent between employers and employed ; to bring about fixity 
of employment ; to create new ties, new forms of fellowship 
even a sort of family feeling between man and man ; and thus, 
after a time, to develop a new type of workingmen, character- 
ized " not only by honesty, frankness, kindness, and true cour- 
tesy, but by a dignity, a self-respect, and a consciousness of 
freedom which only this phase of labor gives." 

The writer met with such a type first in the Associations 
Ouvrieres of Paris, and confidently regards it as a normal result 
of co-operative production. 

Finally, as co-operative producers and consumers have a 
common interest, this system shuts out adulteration in articles 
of food, and dishonest deterioration of goods in general, whether 
caused by faulty workmanship, or by employing worthless ma- 
terials. 

A point of vast importance, this last ! The debasement 
of quality which, under the pressure of competition, has gradu- 
ally extended of lata years to almost every article used by 
man, is notorious. Yet as few persons except the initiated re- 
alize the immense loss to society from this source, an illustrative 
experience of my own may here be welcome. 

When my father left me manager of the New Lanark cot- 
ton mills, in the winter of 1824-25, a certain Mr. Bartholomew, 
who had long been a customer of ours to the extent of twenty- 
five or thirty thousand dollars a year, came to me one day, 
asking if I could make him a lot ot yarn suitable for ordinary 
shirting, at such a price, naming it, 

" We have but one price," I said, " and you know well 
that we sell such yarn twenty per cent, above the rate that you 
propose." 

" I know that," he replied, ; " but you could make it, so as 
to be sold at my price." 

" Yes, by using waste and mixing in weak, short-stapled 
cotton," 



240 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

" And it would look almost as well ?" 

" Perhaps." 

'•Then I'll risk it." 

"My father's instructions," I replied, " are not to lower the 
quality of our goods. I'm sorry, but I can't fill your order." 

He went off in a huff, but returned two days later. 

" See here," he said, " don't be Quixotic. I can have the 
yarn I asked you about spun elsewhere. What's the use of 
driving a good customer from you ? I shall get the stuff I 
want, and use it, all the same." 

" It would injure the character of our mill." 

" Not if you leave off your trade mark. What do I care 
about the picture ? f Mark it as you will." 

I hesitated, and finally — not much to my credit — agreed to 
make the yarn for him. 

I had it marked with a large B. " It will stand for Bar- 
tholomew or for bad," I said to him when he came to look at 
it. " I'm ashamed to turn such an article out of our mill." 

But three weeks later he came again. " Just the thing !" 
he said, and he gave me a second order, thrice as large as the 
first. 

The B yarn became a popular article in the market ; the 
shirting that was made from it looking smooth, and being sold 
at some ten per cent, less than that made from our usual qual- 
ity. Yet to my certain knowledge, — for I tried it, — it did not 
last half as long as the other. 

That transaction sits somewhat heavily on my conscience 
still. Yet it helped to teach me a great lesson. It is my firm 
belief that, at the present time, purchasers of cotton, woolen, 
linen, and silk goods, of furniture, hardware, leather goods, and 
all other manufactured staples, lose, on the average, because of 
inferior quality, more than half of the money they pay out. 
And I doubt whether, except by co-operation, this crying evil 
can be remedied. 

When I reached Harmony, early in 1826, these genera] 
ideas ruled in my mind, untempered by the " sober second 
thoughts " which an after life brought with it. I looked at 

■j- On each ten-pound package we were wont to paste an engraving of the mills and 
village ; and our yarn, in consequence, went far and near, by tlie name of " picture- 
yarn." 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 241 

everything with eyes of enthusiasm, and for a time, the life 
there was wonderfully pleasant and hopeful to me. This, I 
think, is the common experience of intelligent and well dis- 
posed persons who have joined the Brook Farm or any other 
reputable community. Thare is a great charm in the good- 
fellowship and in the absence of conventionalism which charac- 
terize such associations. 

Then there was something especially taking — to me at least 
— in the absolute freedom from trammels, alike in expression 
of opinion, in dress, and in social converse, which I found there. 
The evening gatherings, too, delighted me ; the weekly meeting 
for discussion of our principles, in which I took part at once , 
the weekly concert, with an excellent leader, Josiah Warren, 
and a performance of music, instrumental and vocal, much be- 
yond what I had expected in the backwoods ; last, not least, the 
weekly ball, where I found crowds of young people, bright and 
genial if not specially cultivated, and as passionately fond of 
dancing as, in those days, I myself was. 

The accommodations seemed to me, indeed, of the rudest 
and the fare of the simplest ; but I cared no more for that than 
voung folks usually care who forsake pleasant homes to spend a 
summer month or two under canvas, — their tents on the beach, 
perhaps, with boats and fishing tackle at command, or pitched 
in some sylvan retreat, where youth and maiden roam the for- 
est all day, returning at nightfall to merry talk, improvised 
music, or an impromptu dance on the greensward. 

I shrank from no work that was assigned to me, and some- 
times, to the surprise of my associates, volunteered when a hard 
or disagreeable job came up, as the pulling down of sundry 
dreadfully dusty and dilapidated cabins throughout the village; 
bat, after a time, finding that others could manage as much 
common labor in one day as I in two or three, and being invited 
to take general charge of the school and to aid in editing the 
weekly paper, I settled down to what, I confess, were more 
congenial pursuits than weilding the axe or holding the plough 
handles. 

I had previously tried one day of sowing wheat by hand, 
and held out till evening ; but my right arm was comparatively 
useless for forty-eight hours after. Another day, when certain 
31 



242 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

young girls were baking bread for one of the large boarding- 
houses, lacked an additional hand, I offered to help them ; but 
when the result of my labors came to the table, it was suggested 
that one of the loaves should be voted to me as a gift for my 
diligence ; the rather, as, by a little manipulation, such as 
apothecaries use in making pills, it might save me the trouble 
of casting bullets the next time I went out rifle-shooting. 

To atone for these and similar mishaps, I sometimes suc- 
ceeded where others had failed. When I first took charge of 
the school, finding that the teachers occasionally employed cor- 
poral punishment, I strictly forbade it. After a time the mas- 
ter of the eldest boys' class said to me ^one day, " I find it 
impossible to control these unruly rascals. They know I'm not 
allowed to flog them ; and when I seek to enforce rules of order 
they defy me." 

I sought to show him how he might manage them without 
the rod, but he persisted : " If you'd try it yourself for a few 
days, Mr. Owen, you'd find out that I'm right." 

" Good," said I. " I'll take them in hand for a week or 
two." 

They were a rough, boisterous, lawless set ; bright enough, 
capable of learning when they applied themselves; but accus- 
tomed to a free swing, and impatient of discipline to which 
they had never been subjected. I said to them, at the start, 
" Boys, I want you to learn ; you'll be very sorry when you 
come to be men if you don't. But you can't learn anything 
worth knowing, without rules to go by. I must have you or- 
derly and obedient. I won't require from you anything unrea- 
sonable, and I don t intend to be severe with you. But what- 
ever I tell you, bas to be done, and shall be done, sooner or 
later " Here I observed on one or two bold faces a smile that 
looked like incredulity ; but all I added was, " You'll save 
time if you do it at once." 

My lessons, often oral, interested them, and things went on 
quietly for a few days. I knew the crisis would come. It did, 
in this wise. It was May, the thermometer ranging toward 
ninety, and I resolved to take the class to bathe in the Wabash, 
much to their delight. I told them in advance, that by the 
doctor's advice they were to remain in the water fifteen minutes 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 243 

only — that was the rule. When I called, " Time up ! " they 
all come out, somewhat reluctantly, however, except ono tall 
fellow, named Ben, a good swimmer, who detained us ten min- 
utes more, notwithstanding my order, several times repeated, to 
come on shore. 

I said nothing about it till we returned to the school-room; 
then I asked the class, " Do you remember my saying to you 
that whatever I told you to do had to be done sooner or later?" 
They looked at Ben, and said, '" Yes." Then I went on : "I 
am determined that if I take you to bathe again, you shall stay 
in fifteen minutes only, How do you think I had best manage 
that? " They looked at Ben again, and seemed puzzled, never, 
very surely, having been asked such a question before. " Has 
no one any plan ? " I said. 

At length a youngster suggested, " I guess you'd better 
thrash him, Mr. Owen." 

" I don't wish to do that," I replied ; I think it does boys 
harm. Besides, I never was whipped myself, I never whipped 
anybody, and I know it must be a very unpleasant thing to do. 
Can't some of you think of a better plan ? " 

One of the class suggested, " There's a closet in the garret 
with a stout bolt to it. You might shut him up there till we 
get back." 

" That's better than flogging ; but is the closet dark ? " 

" It's dark as hell." 

" You must n't talk so, my child. You can't tell whether 
there is such a place as hell at all. You mean that the closet 
is quite dark, don't you ? " 

" Yes. " 

" Then you ought to say so. But I think Ben would not 
like to be shut up in the dark for nearly an hour." 

" No ; but then we don't like to be kept from bathing, just 
for him." 

Then one little fellow, with some hesitation, put in his 
word : " Please, Mr. Owen, wouldn't it do to leave him in the 
playground ? " 

" If I could be sure that he would stay there ; but he 
might get out and go bathing, and remain in half an hour per- 
haps." 



244 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

At this point, Ben, no longer able to restrain himself, — he 
had been getting more and more restless, turning first to one 
speaker, then to another, as we coolly discussed his case, — burst 
forth ; " Mr. Owen, if you'll leave me in the playground when 
they go to bathe next time, I'll never stir from it. I won't. 
You'll see I won't." 

'' Well, Ben," said I, " I've never known you to tell a 
falsehood, and I'll take your word for it this time. But re- 
member ! If you lie to me once, I shall never be able to trust 
you again. We conldn't believe known liars if we were to try." 

So the next time we went bathing, I left Ben in the play- 
grouud. When we returned he met me, with eager face, at the 
gate. " I've never left even for a minute ; ask them if I have" 
— pointing to some boys at play. 

" Your word is enough. I believe you." 

Thereafter Ben came out of the water promptly as soon as 
time was called ; and when any of his comrades lingered, he 
was the first to chide them for disobeying orders. 

Once or twice afterward I had to take a somewhat similar 
stand — never against Ben — persisting each time until I was 
obeyed. Then bethinking me of my Hofwyl experience, I 
called in the aid of military drill, which the boys took to very 
kindly ; and when three weeks had passed, I found that my 
pupils prided themselves in being — what, indeed, they were, — 
the best disciplined and most orderly and law-abiding class in 
the school. 

So I carried my point against a degrading relic of barbar- 
ism, then countenanced in England, alike in army, navy, and 
some of the most accredited seminaries. I had witnessed an 
example the year before, in London, during a visit to the central 
school of Dr. Bell, the rival of Lancaster, patronized by the 
Anglican Church. A class were standing up for arithmetic. 
" Seven times eight are fifty-six," said one boy. " Is, not are," 
sternly cried the teacher, dealing the offender such a buffet on 
the ear that he staggered and finally dropped to the ground : 
then adding, " Get up ! Now perhaps you'll remember that, 
another time." But whether it was the blow or the bit of doubt- 
ful grammar he was bidden to remember seemed not very clear. 




County Court House. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 245 

I still recollect how my nature revolted against this out- 
rage — for such it appeared to me ." Father," I said, " I'm very 
sorry you gave any money to this school." He smiled, and 
apologized for the teacher, saying, " The man had probably 
been treated in the same manner when he was a child, and so 
knew no better." My father had, some time before, subscribed 
two thousand five hundred dollars in aid of the Bell system, 
offering to double that sum if Dr. Bell would open his schools 
to the children of dissenters. But this the ex-chaplain or his 
committee had refused to do. 

On the whole, my life in Harmony, for many months, was 
happy and satisfying. To this the free and simple relation 
there existing between youth and maidens much contributed. 
We called each other by our Christian names only, spoke and 
acted as brothers and sisters might ; often strolled out by moon- 
light in groups, sometimes in single pairs, yet withal, no scandal 
or other harm came of it, either then or later, unless we are to 
reckon as such a few improvident or unsuited matches, that 
turned out poorly, as hasty love-matches will. What might 
have happened to myself amid such familiar surroundings, if 
my heart had not been preoccupied, I cannot tell. I met almost 
daily handsome, interesting, warmhearted girls, bright, merry 
and unsophisticated ; charming partners at ball or picnic, one 
especially, who afterwards married a son of Oliver Evans, the 
celebrated inventor and machinist, to whom, I believe, we owe 
the high-pressure engine. But this girl, many years since dead, 
and others both estimable and attractive, were to me, engrossed 
by recollections of Jessie, but as favorite sisters. 

Naturally enough, under such circumstances, I was not 
haunted by doubts as to the success of the social experiment in 
which we were engaged. The inhabitants seemed to me friend- 
ly and well disposed. There was much originality of character, 
and there were some curious eccentricities, but nothing to match 
the Page of Nature, who had so startled Captain McDonald and 
myself at New York. 

One example occurs to me, — an old man mamed Green- 
wood, father of Miles Greenwood, well known afterwards to the 
citizens ot Cincinnati as chief of their Fire Department, and 



24:6 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

still later, as owner of the largest foundry and machine-shops 
then in the West. We had, during the summer of 1826, sev- 
eral terrific thunder storms, such as I had never before witness- 
ed. The steeple of our church was shattered and one of our 
boarding houses struck. It was during one of these storms, 
when the whole heavens seemed illuminated and the rain was 
falling in torrents, that I saw old Greenwood, thoroughly 
drenched, and carrying, upright as a soldier does his musket, a 
slender iron rod, ten or twelve feet long. He was walking in 
the middle of the street, passed with slow step the house in 
which I was, and, as I afterwards learned, paraded every street 
in the village in the same deliberate manner. Next day I met 
him and asked an explanation. " Ah well, my young friend," 
said he, " I'm very old, I'm not well, I suffer much, and I 
thought it might be a good chance to slip off and be laid quietly 
in the corner of the peach orchard. 

" You hoped to be struck by the lightning?" 

" You see, I don't like to kill myself — seems like taking 
matters out of God's hands. But I thought he might perhaps 
send me a spare bolt when I put myself in the way. If He had 
only seen fit to do it, I'd then have been at rest this very min- 
ute ; all my pains gone, no more trouble to any one, no more 
burden to myself." 

" You don't know how useful you may be yet, Mr. Green- 
wood." 

" Under the green grass would have been better, but it 
wasn't to be, just yet," 

In the educational department we had considerable talent, 
mixed with a good deal of eccentricity. We had a Frenchman 
patronized by Mr. Maclure, a M. Phiquepal d'Arusmont, who 
became afterwards the husband of Frances Wright; a man well 
informed on many points, full of original ideas, some of practi- 
cal value, but, withal, a wrong headed genius, whose extrava- 
gance and wilfulness and inordinate self-conceit destroyed his 
usefulness. He had a small school, but it was a failure ; he 
gained neither the good will nor the respect of his pupils. 

Another, of a very different stamp, was Professor Joseph 
Neef, from Pestalozzi's in Switzerland. Simple, straightforward, 
and cordial, a proficient in modern languages, a good musician ( 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. VA1 

he had brought with him from Pestalozzi's institution at Iver. 
dun an excellent mode of teaching. To his earlier life, as an 
officer under Napoleon, was due a blunt, off-hand manner and 
an abrupt style of speech, enforced now and then with an oath, 
— an awkward habit for a teacher, which I think he tried inef- 
fectually to get rid of. One day, when I was within hearing, a 
boy in his class used profane language. 

" Youngster," said Neef to him, "you musn't swear. It's 
silly, and it's vulgar, and it means nothing. Do not let me hear 
you do so again." 

" But Mr. Neef," said the boy, hesitating and looking half 
frightened, " if it 's vulgar and wrong to swear, why — " 

" Well, out with it ! Never stop when you want to say 
anything, that is another bad habit, You wished to know 
why — " 

" Why you swear yourself, Mr. Neef?" 

" Because I 'm a d — d fool. Don't you be one, too. 

With all his roughness, the good old man was a general fa- 
vorite alike with children and adults. Those whose recollec- 
tions of Harmony extend back thirty years preserve a genial 
remembrance of him walking about in the sun of July or Aug- 
ust, in linen trousers and shirt, always bareheaded, sometimes 
barefooted, with a grandchild in his arms, and humming to his 
infant charge some martial air, in a wonderful bass voice, which 
it was said, enabled him, in his younger days, when giving com- 
mand to a body of troops, to be distinctly heard by ten thousand 
men. 

We had, at this time, in the educational department, a good 
many persons of literary and scientific ability. But dissensions 
crept in among them, and several, including Dr. Troost, finally 
left the place. Mr. Lesueur, however, remained many years, 
and Thomas Say settled in Harmony, where he spent his time 
in preparing his beautifully illustrated work on American En- 
tomology, dying there in 1834. 

I think my father must have been as well pleased with the 
condition of things at New Harmeny, on his arrival there, as I 
myself was. At all events, some three weeks afterwards, he 
disclosed to me his intention to propose to the Harmonites that 
they should at once form themselves into a Community of 



248 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Equality, based on the principle of common property. This 
took me by surprise, knowing as I did, that when the prelimi- 
nary society had been established, nine months before, he had 
recommended that this novitiat should continue two or three 
years, before adventuriug the next and final step. 

It was an experiment attended with great hazard. Until 
now the executive committee had estimated the value of each 
person's services, and given all persons employed respectively 
credit for the amount, to be drawn out by them in produce or 
store goods. 

But under the new constitution, all members, according to 
their ages, not according to the actual value of their services, 
were to be " furnished, as near as could be, with similar food, 
clothing, and education ; and, as soon as practicable, to live in 
similar houses, and in all respects to be accommodated alike." 
Also the real estate of the association was to be " held in per- 
petual trust forever for the use of the Community "; persons 
leaving the society to forfeit all interest in the original land, 
but to have claim for " a just proportion of the value of any 
real estate required during their membership ." The power of 
making laws was vested in the Assembly, which consisted of all 
the resident adult members of the Community. There was an 
Executive Council, having superintendence and empowered to 
" carry into effect all general regulations "; but the Council was 
" subject at all times to any directions expressed by a majority 
of the Assembly and communicated by the clerk of the Assem- 
bly to the secretary of the Council." After the first formation 
of the Community, the assent of a majority of the Assembly 
was necessary to admit a member. 

Liberty, equality, and fraternity, in downright earnest ! 
It found favor with that heterogeneous collection of radicals, 
enthusiastic devotees to principle, honest latitudinarians, and 
lazy theorists, with a sprinkling of unprincipled sharpers thrown 
in. A committee of seven — my brother William and myself 
included — elected at a town-meeting held January 26, 1826, 
were authorized to frame and report a constitution. They re- 
ported on February 1 ; and, after a few days debate, the con- 
stitution, somewhat amended, was adopted on February 5. 
Every member of the preliminary society who signed the con- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 249 

stitution within three days, was, with his family, admitted into 
the Community. All but a few, who soon after left the place, 
subscribed ; and then the books were closed. 

I made no opposition to all this. I had too much of my 
father's all-believing disposition to anticipate results which any 
shrewd, cool-headed business man might have predicted. 

How rapidly they came upon us ! Any one who still owns 
a file of the weekly paper, then published in New Harmony, 
may readily trace them. 

Two weeks after the formation of the Community we find : 
" On the 19th instant (February) a resolution was adopted by 
the Assembly directing the Executive Council to request the 
aid of Mr. Owen for one year in conducting the concerns of the 
Community, in conformity with the principles of the constitu- 
tion." Three weeks later in an editorial we read : " General 
satisfaction and individual contentment have taken the place 
of suspense and uncertainty. Under the sole direction of Mr. 
Owen, the most gratifying anticipations of the future may be 
safely indulged." 

It was four years after the declaration, in Paris, in 1848, 
of a Republic, before France settled down under the leadership 
of one man ; but, at Harmony, five weeks sufficed to bring about 
a similar result. The difference was, however, that Louis Na- 
poleon, false to his oath, and resorting to a coup 'd etat, upset 
the Republic, while my father conscientiously adhered to the 
instructions given by the Assembly to conform to the principles 
of the constitution. This very adherence, beyond doubt caused 
his failure. 

For a time, however, things improved under his manage- 
ment. Under date March 22, an editorial tells us: " While we 
have been discussing abstract ideas, we have neglected practi- 
cal means. Our energies have been wasted in useless efforts . . 
But by the indefatigable attention of Mr. Owen, order and sys- 
tem have been introduced into every branch of business. Our 
streets no longer exhibit groups of idle talkers, each is busily 
engaged in the occupation he has chosen. Our public meetings 
instead of being the arena for contending orators, are now 
places of business," etc. 

32 



250 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

This is a useful lifting of the curtain, disclosing what the 
immediate effects of a premature step had been. Two months 
later appear symptoms of doubt. My father, reviewing the 
proceedings of the Community, May 10, says: "The great ex- 
periment in New Harmony is still going on, to ascertain whether 
a large, heterogeneous mass of persons, collected by chance, can 
be amalgamated into one community. Up to that time, it would 
seem, he had delayed making any conveyance of the land. 

When three months more had passed, my father, address- 
ing the Assembly, said, in reply to a question as to having all 
things, land included, in common, " I shall be ready to form 

such a community whenever yon are prepared for it But 

progress must be made in community education before all par- 
ties can be prepared for a community of common property." 
He then proposed, and the Assembly adopted, a resolution that 
they meet three evenings in the week for community education. 

These meetings continued, with gradually lessening num- 
bers for a month or two. Then comes an editorial admission 
that " a general system of trading speculation prevails," to- 
gether with " a want of confidence in the good intentions of 
each other." 

Finally, a little more than a year after the Community ex- 
periment commenced, came official acknowledgement of its fail- 
ure. The editorial containing it, though without signature, was 
written by my brother William and myself, as editors, on our 
own responsibility ; but it was submitted by us, for revision as 
to the facts, to my father, We said: " Our opinion is, that 
Robert Owen ascribed too little influence to the early anti-so- 
cial circumstances that had surrounded many of the quickly 
collected inhabitants of New Harmony before their arrival 
there ; and too much to those circumstances which his experi- 
ence might enable them to create around themselves in future. 
.... We are too inexperienced to hazard a judgment on the 
prudence and management of those who directed its execution ; 
and the only opinion we can express with confidence is of the 
perseverance with which Robert Owen pursued it at great pecu- 
niary loss to himself. One form of government was at first 
adopted, and when that appeared unsuitable another was tried ; 
until it appeared that the members were too various in their 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 251 

feelings and too dissimilar in their habits to govern themselves 
harmoniously as one community. . . . New Harmony, therefore, 
is not now a community." 

Thenceforth, of course, the inhabitants had either to sup- 
port themselves or to leave the town. But my father offered 
land on the Harmony estate to those who desired to try smaller 
community experiments, on an agricultural basis. Several were 
formed, some by honest, industrious workers, to whom land was 
leased at very low rates ; while other leases were obtained by 
unprincipled speculators who cared not a whit for co-operative 
principles, but sought private gain by the operation. All finally 
failed as social experiments. To the workers who had acted in 
good faith my father ultimately sold, at a low price, the glands 
they occupied. By the speculators he lost in the end a large 
amount of personal property, of which, under false pretences, 
they had obtained control. 

My present opinion is that, in stating the causes which led 
to the failure of my father's plans of social reform at New Har- 
mony, my brother and I omitted the chief error. I do not be- 
lieve that any industrial experiment can succeed which proposes 
equal remuneration to all men, the diligent and the dilatory, 
the skilled artisan and the common laborer, the genius and the 
drudge. I speak of the present age ; what may happen in the 
distant future it is impossible to foresee and imprudent to pre- 
dict. What may be safely predicted is, that a plan which re- 
munerates all alike will, in the present condition of society, 
ultimately eliminate from a co-operative association the skilled, 
efficient, and industrious members, leaving an ineffective and 
sluggish residue, in whose hands the experiment will fail, both 
socially and pecuniarily. 

The English associations which are now succeeding were 
organized under a special act of Parliament, as joint stock com- 
panies — limited ; all heads of families and single adults within 
each being at once the stockholders who furnish the necessary 
capital, and if it be a store, the customers, or, if it be a manu- 
facturing or agricultural establishment, the workers who give 
that capital its value. A small executive board, its members 
being themselves experienced workers, and having moderate 
fixed salaries, is elected by the association, and superintends all 



252 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

operations. These superintendents are required to visit, at 
stated hours throughout the day, each department of industry, 
and to register, on books kept for that purpose, the exact hour 
and duration of these visits. Each artisan or other laborer is 
paid wages at the rate which his services would command in 
the outside world ; and is entitled, at the end of each year, 
when the profits are declared, to a dividend on his stock, in 
addition. 

There are other important details, for example, arrangements 
in the nature of benefit societies in case of sickness ; but they 
would be out of place here. This slight sketch may suffice to 
show, in a general way, how the workman, if he can once lay 
up in a savings' bank or elsewhere a small capital, may obtain 
the entire value of his labor, may secure permanent employ- 
ment, which only misconduct can forfeit ; and besides, have fair 
wages regularly paid, and his just proportion of profits, deduct- 
ing only the necessary expense of a judicious and economical 
management. 

Robert Owen distinguished the great principle, but, like so 
many other devisers, missed the working details of his scheme. 
If these, when stated, seem to lie so near the surface that com- 
mon sagacity ought to have detected them, let us bear in mind 
how wise men stumbled over Columbus's simple puzzle ; failing 
to balance an egg on one end, till a touch ot the great naviga- 
tor's solved the petty mystery. 

I have little doubt that the English co-operators are grad 
ually furnishing a practical solution of the most important o 
industrial mysteries, — the great problem how increased powers 
to produce shall not only procure increased comforts to the pro- 
ducer, but, at the same time, elevate him. day by day in the 
moral scale, until he becomes, as the years go on, a self-respect- 
ing, upright, intelligent man. 

That these civilizing influences should result from the prin- 
ciple of association for mutual benefit is according to the due 
order of human progress. Animals are self-dependant, and 
individually isolated, and so ara liable to grave injury from 
slight cause, and are daily in peril from stronger and fiercer 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 253 

brutes. "f Savage man is but a step in advance of this ; and 
scarcely more secure than lie is the laborer of modern days, 
when segregated from his class, and fighting the life battle, 
single-handed, against capital and competition. Divided, he 
falls lower and lower in the social scale, United only — but it 
must be judiciously united, J — can he succeed in attaining secu- 
rity and comfort. Nor need he surrender wholesome liberty in 
associating for common good. The English co-operative work- 
man is far more free, as well as more safe, than his isolated 
neighbors. 

Such considerations my palliate, in may father's case, the 
charge of rash confidence, and what may seem reckless self 
sacrifice in carrying out his favorite plans. He expended in 
the purchase of the Harmony property, real and personal, in 
paying the debts of the Community during the year of its ex- 
istence, and in meeting his ultimate losses the next year by 
swindlers, upwards of two hundred thousand dollars. 

Had his plans succeeded, he would, beyond question, have 
conveyed the whole of his Indiana property in trust forever, 
without value received, or any compensation other than the 
satisfaction of success, to support co-operative associations there. 
Thus, as his property did not then reach quarter of a million, 
he was willing to give up more than four fifths of what he was 
worth to this great experiment. 

The remainder, not exceeding forty thousand dollars, might 
have sufficed for a competence had he been content to live qui- 
etly upon it. But it soon melted away in a hundred expendi- 
tures for experiments, publications, and the like, connected 
with social and industrial reform. He seems to have felt it to 
be a point of honor, so long as he had means left, to avert re- 
proach from the cause of co-operation by paying debts left 

fThe effect upon animals of what has been called " natural selection," sayB Wallace, 
depends mainly on their self-dependance and individual isolation. A slight injury, a 
temporary illness, leaves the individual powerless against its enemies. — Work on Natu- 
ral Selection already quoted, p. 311. 

What is the effect upon a laboring father of a family, with two dollars and a half 
a week to support them of "slight injury or temporary illness?" Is he not at the 
mercy of his enemies — abject penury, starvation ? 

^Trades Unions are often but disgaised Tyrannies ; examples of an excellent princi- 
ple, miserably perverted. 



254 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

standing at the close of unsuccessful experiments when these 
had been conducted in good faith.f 

One result of all this seems to me now so little like what 
usually happens in this world, that, if it provoke incredulity, I 
think the skeptics may be readily excused. It relates to my 
brother Willian and myself, exemplifying the effect of early 
habits and impressions. Soon after our return from Hofwyl, 
my father made us partners in the New Lanark mills, conveying 
to each of us one share of fifty thousand dollars. We bought 
whatever we wanted, and, as it happened, our profits amply 
sufficed for our wants. Yet I cannot call to mind that I ever 
examined my partnership account, or posted myself as to the 
balance. 

When my father proposed to devote four-fifths of the prop- 
erty that would naturally have come to us as his heirs, to the 
cause of reform, neither William nor I, to the best of my recol- 
lection, expressed or even felt regret that it was about to pass 
away from us. Several years after the purchase of Harmony, 
when we learned from my father that his funds were running 
low, we both volunteered to transfer to him, unconditionally, 
our New Lanark shares. He accepted the offer as frankly as it 
was made ; but he conveyed to us jointly land on the Harmony 
estate worth about thirty thousand dollars. Engrossed with 
the sanguine hopes of youth and the vague dreams of enthusi- 
asm, I believe that I scarcely bestowed a seco'nd thought on the 
pecuniary independence for life which I was thus relinquishing. 
If ony one had lauded my disinterestedness, it would have 
been unmerited praise ; it was simply indifference, not self- 
sacrifice. Nor do I remember ever pining after the luxuries of 
Braxfield, or wishing myself back again in the Old World. 

f In the year 1832 (for example), there was established in London, by workingmen 
friendly to co-operation, a Bazaar, or " Labor Exchange." At first my father was re- 
quested to act as manager, which he did without salary, merely stipulating that no ex- 
pense or risk should devolve upon him ; but, after a time, the parties concerned thought 
they could manage better themselves, and my father withdrew. When at a later period 
(says one of his biographers,) the business was wound up, "there was a deficiency of 
upwards or twelve thousand dollars ; and when it was represented to Mr. Owen that it 
was through confidence in him that many persons had been led to make deposits, whose 
distress or even ruin would ensue if the loss were not made up, he assumed and paid the 
whole." Life of Robert Owen, Philadelphia, 1866, pp, 223, 224. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 255 

My father's intention in bringing us up thus unconcerned 
about money and careless as to its acquisition was kind and 
commendable ; it was far better than to have taught us 
that riches are the main chance in life, and that all things else 
should be postponed to money-getting ; but I am of opinion 
now that it was a grave mistake, nevertheless, I think a father 
ought to say to his sons, as I have said to mine : " Money is a 
power for good as well as for evil. It is an element of personal 
independence. Do not grasp after it, yet seek to acquire it 
fairly, honorably without doing hard things, especially without 
grinding others. Do not enter public life until you shall have 
set apart what suffices for a reputable living, and invested your 
savings with reference to absolute safety rather than to a high 
rate of interest. Thus, on solid ground yourself, you can the 
more effectively lend a hand to the cause of reform, and if you 
are elected a legislator, or to other civil service, you can act 
out your convictions, without fear that loss of office will reduce 
you to poverty." 

My father took a less practical if more Scriptural, view of 
things, virtually telling us, " Seek first the good of human kind 
and all other things shall be added unto you." He protected 
us, however, to a great extent, from suffering while following 
such advice. For, at a later period, he conveyed to his sons, 
then citizens of the United States, the New Harmony property , 
his only surviving daughter being already provided for. All he 
required of us in return was to execute a deed of trust, of some 
thirty thousand dollars' worth of land, burdened with an annu- 
ity to him, during life, of fifteen hundred a year ; after that a 
life interest to his daughters-in-law, and the fee to their child- 
ren. The above annuity was his sole dependence for support 
during many years of his life. We, with the means he put into 
our hands, might have readily accumulated an assured inde- 
pendence by the time we reached middle age, had we known — 
which we did not — how to manage and improve Western prop- 
erty, and had we steadily followed up the pursuit of a compe- 
tency, as we ought to have done. There is more power in 
knowledge than in gold, no matter how large the pile. 

In looking back upon myself as I was in those days, I have 
often wondered how far my after life might have been affected 



256 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

by the judicious advice of some cool-headed, dispassionate 
friend, one who, while sharing many of my aspirations, would 
have brought the chastening experience of a long life to mould 
and give wise direction to them ; what, for example, would 
have been the result if the Robert Dale Owen of seventy could 
have been the counselor of the Robert Dale Owen of twenty-five 
— talking over that eager youth's ideas of reform with him ; dis- 
secting his views of life here and his doubts of life hereafter ; 
correcting his crudities and calling in question bis hasty con- 
clusions. 

I found no such mentor, but met. instead, with a friend 
some ten years my senior, possessing various noble qualities, but 
with ideas on many subjects, social and religious, even more 
immature and extravagant than my own. This new acquaint- 
ance mainly shaped, for several years, the tenor of my life. 

Frances Wright was a cultivated Englishwoman of good 
family, who though left an orphan at an early age, had received 
a careful and finished education, was thoroughly versed in the 
literature of the day, well informed on all general subjects, 
and spoke French and Italian fluently. She had traveled and 
resided for years in Europe, was an intimate friend of General 
Lafayette, had made the acquaintance of many leading reform- 
ers, Hungarian, Polish and others, and was a thorough repub- 
lican ; indeed, an advocate of universal suffrage, without regard 
to color or sex, — a creed that was much more rare forty years 
ago than to-day Refined in her manner and language, she was 
a radical alike in morals, politics and religion. 

She had a strong, logical mind, a courageous independence 
of thought and a zealous wish to benefit her fellow-creatures ; 
but the mind had not been submitted to early discipline ; the 
courage was not tempered with prudence, the philanthropy had 
little of common-sense to give it practical form and efficiency. 
Her enthusiasm, eager but fitful, lacked the guiding check of 
sound judgment. Her abilities as an author and lecturer were 
of a high order ; but an inordinate estimate of her own mental 
powers and an obstinate adherence to opinions once adopted 
detracted seriously from the influence which her talents and 
eloquence might have exerted. A redeeming point was, that 
to carry out her convictions she was ready to make great sacri- 



Evamville and its Men of Mark. 257 

fices, personal and pecuniary. She and a younger sister, a lady 
alike amiable and estimable, had always lived and journeyed 
together, were independent in their circumstances, and were 
devotedly attached to each other. 

She had various personal advantages, — a tall, commanding 
figure, somewhat slender and graceful though the shoulders 
were a little bit too high ; a face the outline of which in profile 
though delicately chiseled, was masculine rather than feminine, 
like that of an Antinous, or perhaps more nearly typifying a 
Mercury ; the forehead broad but not high ; the short chestnut 
hair curling naturally all over a classic head ; the large blue 
eyes not soft but earnest, When I first met her in Harmony in 
the Summer of 1826, some of the peculiarities of character 
above set forth had not developed themselves. She was then 
known, in England and here, only as the author of a small 
work entitled A Few Days in Athens, published and favorably 
received in London ; and of a volume of travels in the United 
States, in which she spoke in laudatory tone of our institutions 
and of our people. She condemned, indeed, in strong terms, — 
as enlightened foreigners were wont to do, — that terrible offence 
against human liberty 'tolerated, alas ! by our Constitution) 
which the greatest war of modern times has since blotted out. 

But she did more than to condemn the crime of slavery: 
she sought, albeit with utterly inadequate means and knowl- 
edge, to act as pioneer in an attempt to show how it might be 
gradually suppressed. She had already purchased a large tract 
of unimproved farming land, situated in West Tennessee, about 
fourteen miles back of Memphis, on both sides of a small stream 
called by the Indians Ne-sho-ba, or Wolf River ; and she had 
bought and removed to that place nine negro slaves. Her con- 
fident hope was to prove that these people could, in a few years 
by their own labor, work out their liberty ; and with a strange 
ignorance alike of Southern character and of the force of life- 
long habits, and of the sway of selfish motive among the rich 
and idle, she was credulous to expect that the better intentioned 
among the planters of the South would gradually follow her 
example. 

Miss Wright's vigorous character, rare cultivation, and 
hopeful enthusiasm gradually gave her great influence over me ; 

33 



258 Evamville and its Men of Mark. 

and I recollect her telling me, one day when I had expressed 
in the New Harmony Gazette, with more than usual fearless- 
nes, some radical opinions which she thared, that I was one of 
the few persons she had ever met with whom she felt that, in 
her reformatory efforts, she could act in unison. Thus we be- 
came intimate friends, and in the sequel coeditors. 

Friends ; but never, throughout the years we spent together 
anything more. I felt and acted toward her, at all times, just 
as I would toward a brave, spirited, elder comrade of my own 
sex, Affections already engaged and the difference of age may 
have had their weight , but, aside from this, while I saw much 
to admire in Frances Wright, I found nothing to love. 

Whether I was ever Quixotic enough to believe that her 
experiment at Nashoba — so she named her plantation — would, 
to any appreciable extent, promote negro emancipation, I can- 
not now call to mind. I think that the feature in her plan 
which chiefly attracted me was her proposal there to collect, 
from among the cultivated classes of England and America, a 
few kindred spirits, who should have their small, separate dwel- 
lings, contribute to a common fund enough for their support, 
and spend their time in " lettered leisure." I probably pic- 
tured to myself a woodland cottage, with honeysuckle-shaded 
porch, and with Jessie and myself as its inmates. 

We learn from one of Homer's heroes that the gods 

" Granted half his prayer; 
The rest the winds dispersed in empty air"; 

but I was less favored ; no part of my Tennessee dream was to 
be realized. — Atlantic. 




Francis Brinley Fogg. 



Op Nashville, Tennessee. 



'AS born in Brooklyn, Connecticut, on the 21st of 
September, 1795. His father, the Rev. Daniel Fogg 
— a native of New-Hampshire — was a clergyman of the Prot- 
estant Episcopal Church, and fulfilled the duties of his sacred 
office for forty-one years, in the same parish, honored and es- 
teemed for his goodness and piety, by all men of all classes and 
every Christian denomination. His mother, whose maiden name 
was Brinley, came from one of the most respected and respect- 
able families in New-England — she ornamented and piously 
adorned a long life by the practice of all the virtues of her sex, 
and died a few years ago, in extreme old age, crowned with un- 
clouded hope and faith, and blessed to the last hour in the lull 
enjoyment of all her faculties. 

The immediate subject of this brief memoir — the oldest of 
his father's offspring — continued under the parental roof until 
he had reached his tenth year, receiving up to that age, such 
instruction only, as could be obtained at home and in the com- 
mon schools of the township. He was subsequently removed 
for further culture and improvement, to a classical academy in 
Plainfield, where he was quickly noted by his teacher, and all 
his youthful associates, for his extraordinary attainments in the 
ancient languages, and in the different branches of mathemat- 
ics. So rare and rapid, indeed, were the varied powers of his 
mind, that a few years of study at Plainfield earned him unri- 
valed distinction, and satisfied his friends that he possessed, in 
an eminent degree, an intellect sufficiently strong to master any 
language and every science, however abstruse or difficult of 
comprehension. When he left that academy, though only thir- 
teen years old, he was, in fact, an accomplished scholar in the 



260 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Greek and Latin readings ; and having, ever since, industriously 
kept up his learning, he happily retains to this day, a ready 
and profound acquaintance with both of these languages. 

There are few of those who shall read this rapid sketch, 
especially men of New-England, who will not have heard of 
the Hon. William Hunter, of Newport, Rhode Island — an able, 
great and eminent statesman and civilian — for some years a 
senator in Congress from his State, and, in the latter part of his 
life, American Minister to Brazil. Erudite and learned him- 
self, devoted to the beauties of literature and the fine arts, and 
the generous patron of genius in others, this distinguished gen- 
tleman, delighted with the early talents, the application and 
the remarkable acquirements of a promising kinsman, invited 
his youthful relative — the subject of these lines — to pursue his 
studies, including the study of law, in his family at Newport, 
and under his own immediate care and instruction. Nor could 
a more sincere friend, or competent teacher, have offered to dis- 
cipline and direct the mental energies of a virtuous and aspiring 
lad. The boon so nobly volunteered, was thankfully accepted, 
and henceforth, between the tutor and his pupil, a congeniality 
of taste and sentiment, and great natural endowments, genera- 
ting a warm mutual attachment, united age and boyhood in a 
bond of friendship which was never severed ; and which, in its 
happy consequences, blessed both the giver and receiver of an 
inestimable favor — the former, in the subsequent contemplation 
of the rich fruits of his own benificent care and culture ; the 
latter in the fortune, fame and honor he has since so proudly 
achieved among men. 

Under the guidance of his accomplished master, the youth- 
ful student of our text, full of hope and courage, applied him- 
self dilligently ; and being gifted by nature with a powerful 
and retentive memory, and a mind capable of deep research and 
the severest mental service, garnered in a few years, abundant 
and lasting stores from every department of knowledge. He 
made especial and successful preparation in that particular 
branch to which he had resolved to devote his life ; and having, 
at the age of twenty, sufficiently qualified himself, he made for- 
mal application for a legal commission, and obtained admittance 
to the Newport bar. Nor was he suffered to take this early and 



Evan svitle and its Men of Mark, 261 

difficult honor without a close and critical examination before a 
learned and inflexible tribunal : for in the strict discipline of 
that day — more rigid by far than this — neither the courts of 
justice nor the people could be induced to countenance superfi- 
cial learning in the profession, or to patronize a presumptuous 
and half-taught candidate, who, unprepared for the high and 
responsible warrant, had the vanity to demand the dignity of 
the gown and green bag; and it is to be deplored — deeply de- 
plored, indeed — that the same stringent regulations, in regard 
to authorized membership in a great and indispensable depart- 
ment of our civil polity, does not still prevail in every part of 
our country ; for it must be readily granted by every consider- 
ate observer, that if the bar was only accessible to men of tried 
and established worth, with suitable qualifications, much public 
injury or mischief would be averted ; our courts would be, as 
they always should be, the venerated sanctuaries of justice, and 
the profession would be relieved of much of the prejudice and 
obloquy which ignorant, unworthy and discreditable empirics 
have too frequently cast upon it. 

At the time, too, of which we now speak, the bar in the 
principal cities of New England — always renowned for learn- 
ing and integrity — was everywhere adorned and occupied by 
men whose just influence and popularity had monopolized the 
practice of the different courts, and left little or no immediate 
room for new beginners in the profession. A long, tedious and 
doubtful struggle awaited every junior aspirant for forensic 
honor and employment ; so long, indeed, that no young man of 
limited means, however great his courage or acquirements, could 
prudently hazard, on the most flattering prospective hopes, the 
probation he would necessarily have to encounter ; whilst he 
tarried at the threshold, like the afflicted Hebrew, for the trou- 
bling of the healing waters of the pool, he must eat, and drink 
and dress ; and the charge for these, though never so cheap, 
would drain his scanty purse, and leave him to want and desti- 
tution, or to the cold, humbling, and reluctant charity of friends 
and relatives. It was so at that day in New England in every 
department of life ; it is more so now under the necessities of 
a largely increased and increasing population. But then, as 
now, the spirit of the " pilgrim fathers " stimulated their sons 



262 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

and descendants, and taught them that it was more noble and 
manly to strive for peace and happiness and fortune in a land 
of strangers, than to linger, sickened and discouraged under 
" hope deferred," around the graves of the unpromising homes 
of their ancestors. It was this spirit which made and still 
makes New England the hive whence issue to the "Great West" 
and everywhere over the civilized world, yearly, and large sup- 
plies of talent, of indomitable industry and enterprise, and, in 
a just homage to truth, we must add of men, most of whom 
carry with them, whithersoever they go, a characteristic trait 
of soberness, shrewdness, and accumulative industry. And it 
was this same spirit which, politely rejecting a generous offer 
from his great friend and instructor, Mr. Hunter, to join him in 
the profession at the Philadelphia bar, on equal shares in their 
practice, induced the subject of this short story, in the early 
dawn of manhood, to become a cheerful exile, and to folio (v his 
fortunes, whatever they might be, in a remote society, and 
among people of whom he had heard but little and knew still 
less. Accordingly, at a tender age in life, having only passed 
his twenty -second year, and with money barely sufficient to de- 
fray the necessary expense of traveling, he bade a painful adieu 
to his family, his friends, and all the loved scenes of his native 
land ; and, passing through Washington, where he remained a 
few days, he continued his journey, until, in the month of Feb- 
ruary, 1818, he reached and settled himself in Columbia, a 
beautiful and thriving village in Tennessee, about forty miles 
south from the city of Nashville. 

Many there must be among his resolute countrymen, who, 
having enterprised a similar fate, could pencil, better than we 
can, the strong emotions of a young and lonely adventurer, when 
he finds himself seated, for the first time, in a new home, sur- 
rounded by an " unknowing and unknown " multitude, and 
withal, an object of attraction to every gazing and inquisitive 
eye. 'Tis then that the iron-hearted stranger — silently contem- 
plating the past, the present and the future — remembering all 
he had left and lost, and all he then beholds, and dreading the 
days to come with all their doubtful fortunes — sinks beneath 
his own profound reflection, and repents, perhaps, the folly or 
the courage that taught him, in an evil hour, to exchange every 



Evamville and its Men of Mark. 263 

endearment and all the ties and tender associations of life for 
any hope or hopeful expectation of honor or of profit. Some, 
it is true, better able to conceal than to resist the feeling, may 
be too proud to show or acknowledge the amiable weakness. 
But the instincts of nature — the same in every human bosom — 
can not be so easily repressed ; and all mankind, of every 
clime, of every tongue, and of every condition, feeling the force 
of these instincts, prove this " common law " of humanity by 
submitting to its supremacy. Time, we admit, with new in- 
terests and new associations, may heal or harden the wounds of 
the exile's heart. Time will almost always mellow, sanctify, 
and finally cure the deepest and keenest cuts of the soul ; but, 
although it may obscure their brightness, time can never oblit- 
erate the fond and ineffacable images which memory has im- 
printed on the mind. In the spring-day of youth, in vigorous 
manhood, and alike in the dimness of old age — wherever we go 
or how far soever we may remove — we cling forever to cher- 
ished recollections, and pay eternal love and homage to the 
scenes and the joys and affections of our early, thoughtless, or 
happy hours. How it fared on this occasion with the subject of 
this briet history we know not. We are certain, nevertheless, 
that we should do gross injustice to his benevolent nature and 
to the deep attachments he always manifested, if we should 
suppose him incapable of pairful reflections, where, under sim- 
ilar circumstances, much sterner hearts have bowed submissively 
and in sorrow to the uninvited, but grateful visions of the past. 
But whatever he may have suffered, we are sure he did not for- 
get his dignity, or give way to useless repinings. Opening an 
office at once, he returned to his studies with renewed eager- 
ness and ambition ; and cultivating in the meantime a proper 
acquaintance with the society into which he had so lately en- 
tered, it was not long before he engaged the notice and gained 
the respect and consideration of all observing people. Patron- 
age with its emoluments would have soon followed, but a more 
broad and elevated platform awaited the labor and the exhibi- 
tions of our young adventurer. 

The late Hon. Felix Grundy, justly celebrated in his day 
as a distinguished statesman and an able and very eloquent 
advocate, possessing in a high degree the ready faculty of dis- 



264 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

cerning genius and merit under the most plain and unpretend- 
ing attire. He was, at the same time, equally ready to encour- 
age the growth and developments of such happy endowments 
wherever he found them ; but especially, whenever he saw 
youth and talent struggling, unaided and unadvised, in a 
doubtful conflict against the united antagonism of poverty and 
the cold and repulsive friendship of an unfeeling world. Re- 
markable, too, for an easy, kind and affable address, and for the 
most agreeable powers of conversation, that gentleman had, 
with many other attractive qualities, an eminent facility for 
winning the confidence and good opinion of all who enjoyed his 
society. 

Fortunately for the subject of this memoir, Mr. Grundy 
was, at this particular period of our narrative, a regular attend- 
ant on the Columbia bar. There in that free and cordial inter- 
course which then signalized the members of the profession, an 
introduction between the parties, leading, as it did, to frequent 
intercourse, speedily satisfied that gentleman of the great per- 
sonal worth and extraordinary attainments of the youthful 
stranger; and he lost no time in frankly advising him of his faulty 
location, and earnestly commending his immediate removal to 
Nashville. The limited means and that natural diffidence which 
first induced Mr. Grundy's new acquaintance to seat himself in 
Columbia, were forgotten, or soon overcome by the plausible 
arguments of his experienced counselor ; and thenceforth 
Nashville, with all its undeniable advantages, social and pro- 
fessional, became his home, and has ever since been the princi- 
pal theatre of his actions. This important move was executed 
in the latter part of 1818, and as a consequence, healed for good 
the fortune of the worthy subject of this hasty treatise. 

At the time of which we now write, Tennessee, though 
celebrated for her patriotism and for the heroic achievements 
which closed our last war with England in a blaze of glory, 
was little more than a strong frontier province, chiefly popu- 
lated — comparatively speaking — by a rough, but honest, brave, 
and unsophisticated people ; and Nashville, the acknowledged 
city of the State — was no more than a large and very respect- 
able village. Nevertheless, the Nashville bar, which in ante- 
rior years had acquired and always held a goodly fame, was 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 265 

then renowned and held throughout the State and in many for- 
eign parts, for the learning, the great abilities, and the honor- 
able bearing of its members. There were among them men 
whose giant powers and cultivated minds could have success- 
fully grappled with the learning and the lore of the oldest and 
most refined communities, and men, too, whose great names re- 
main to this day, richly perfumed in the history of the pro- 
fession. Their manner of practice was liberal, though, in the 
progress of the day in which they lived, they had not sufficiently 
learned to question or condemn the absurd technicalities of the 
law, those astute and fast departing mummeries of a distant 
and darker age of legal science. Their rivalries, were, for the 
most part, peaceful and honorable ; and it was their habit to 
extend to their worthy juniors great condescensions and the 
kindest encouragement. 

In their intercourse, which was always easy and informal, 
manhood and youth always mingled freely at the social banquet; 
the former was never arrogant, and the latter never unmindful 
of proper observances to their superiors. Such was the bar, 
into which our adventurer had just entered ; such the character 
of its principal members. If he could not flatter himself with 
a prospect of immediate employment, he was sure, at least, of 
the society and friendship of men of agreeable and highly im- 
proved minds. He was, too, under the special regard and pro- 
tection of a liberal, generous and enlightened relative, residing 
not far from Nashville, whose good heart had opened an ample 
purse and placed its whole contents at his command. Pleased 
with the change of residence, and encouraged by the prospect 
before him, he seated himself again to his studies, well content 
to wait, in becoming patience, the issue of his exertions. 

Another man, with half the intellect «nd preparation, but 
possessed of a larger share of boldness and self-confidence, 
would have successfully hastened that issue, and much sooner 
crowned himself with the emoluments of the profession. We 
have often, still, in this most enlightened age, to witness and 
lament the truth of this criticism ; and we shall be compelled 
to witness and lament its truth so long as mankind, too often 
taking sound for sense, suffer themselves to pass by true merit 
only to be captivated and carried away by the false but winning 

34 



266 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

displays of superficial learning. In these ways of conceit or 
forward assumptions, our new-comer was poorly gifted ; for, in 
his temper and disposition, vanity and self-confidence had no 
place whatever. He was not, we dare say, unconscious of his 
own strength ; but naturally modest and retiring, and altogether 
devoid of popular art, he could not advance himself by practices 
which, when adroitly played off, seldom fail to promote the for- 
tune of inferior minds. Under the operation of these virtuous 
but unpropitious causes, his progress was, of course retarded. 
But the slowness of his professional growth — by giving him 
larger opportunities for study and reflection — added strength 
and solidity to his forensic conquests, and in these consequences 
assured the height and durability of the fame he had subse- 
quently accomplished. By the members of the bar with whom 
he would be in daily contact he hoped, no doubt to be some- 
what favored in an introduction to public notice and considera- 
tion ; for as they must be the first to weigh and estimate his 
pretensions, it was not in vain on his part to suppose that they 
would, at no very distant day, invite his aid and co-operation 
in the management and dispatch of business. Nor in this re- 
quest if such were his reflections, was he at all mistaken or dis- 
appointed ; for it so soon afterward happened that, by the 
countenance and good opinions of those who knew him, as well 
as by his studious habits, and by a quiet and becoming exhibi- 
tion of his legal knowledge, he attracted the observation and 
applause of his older brethren An adept in that most difficult 
branch of legal science, he was first employed to make up 
pleadings : and, blessed with a strong memory and a ready and 
wonderful acquaintance with the books, he was next brought 
into counsel, and not unfrequently engaged in the preparation 
of bills and answers in chancery. These tokens of approved 
personal worth and professional skill led to an unsolicited part- 
nership with a most worthy and long established attorney of 
the Nashville bar ; and, as a notable fact in the history of this 
connection, we may remark that it was the means of gaining 
him an advocacy, with a large contingent fee, in a suit for wild 
and distant lands, the successful recovery of which, in the sub- 
sequent rapid increased value of many " broad acres," gave 
him a very large reward tor his services. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 267 

Thenceforth the way was open to the man of this short 
record. His reputation was fairly established by the united 
judgment of his professional compeers, and the foundation of 
his fortune thereby securely laid. But as patronage, where the 
leading members of the bar are sufficiently enlightened and at- 
tentive, does not readily run into new channels, the number of 
his retainer's, though steadily advancing, did not yet correspond 
with his just claims and his acknowledged abilities. A good 
practice, 'tis true, gave him ample support, with moderate accu- 
mulations ; but he was left still with many leisure hours. 
They were not, however, hours of idleness or of fruitless dis- 
content ; for, imbued by nature with a mind which is happily 
exempt from despondency as from its opposite weakness, he 
pursued, under every phase of life, the " even tenor of his way," 
In his office and by his books — the temple and the earthly idols 
of his heart — mingling, in his daily exercises, the study of law 
with polite and abstruse literature, and never forgetting to 
keep up and extend his critical learning, in the ancient classics, 
he was constantly improving himself, and enlarging the rich 
and abundant stores that have since obtained, for his judgments 
and opinions, oracular confidence and authority. 

In our worldly affairs it sometimes pleases Fortune to lend 
a capricious smile, where neither true merit, nor wisdom, nor 
industry, entitles an unworthy object to the grateful concession. 
But, less fickle in her gifts and good will than the sportive god- 
dess is famed to be, that poetic deity seldom fails to add her 
grace and blessing wherever virtue, and constancy, and quali- 
fication, unite to aid the good man in a heroic struggle for hon- 
est promotion. In the former case, her wavering and unstable 
countenance is, oftentimes, quickly clouded or forever turned 
from an undeserving favorite ; in the latter, patience and per- 
severance, with the help of time and opportunity, will, under 
many disadvantages, sustain our efforts, and, in the end, crown 
our labors and our trembling hopes with a propitious and last- 
ing harvest of honor and profit. Nor do we know of any one 
whose progress and career illustrate more handsomely than his 
the truth of this last reflection. Penniless, friendless, young, 
and a stranger — a voluntary exile for the sake of the hope be- 
fore him, and armed alone with his learning and integrity — he 



208 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

abandoned his native soil and all its manifold endearments, and 
resolutely built bis youthful home in a distant land, and in the 
midst of an unknown people. We have followed him through 
the gloom which, in the early moments of his enterprise, shad- 
owed his path ; we have witnessed the courage and firmness 
with which he braved all difficulties and every disappointment ; 
and we behold him now, at the end of his probation, without 
pride and without vanity, seated at the side of the very fore- 
most of his profession, honored of all men, and daily attended 
by a cr,owd of rewarding clients. Great, indeed, is his triumph 
— not greater, we faithfully proclaim, than the measure of his 
high and indisputable claims do justly challenge. 

It was thus, soon after he had passed his twenty-eighth 
year, that this virtuous and gifted man so happily succeeded in 
executing the great object and design of his life. Poor, but 
full of laudable ambition, and trusting to his own good valor 
and resolution, he came to us in quest of a home, of honorable 
employment, and of a name worthy to be noted among men, 
By his talents and application, and by his amiable, dignified, 
and unpretending deportment, he commanded the applause and 
enlisted the good feelings of his elder brethren at the bar, and 
finally attained before the public an enviable and extended 
fame, together with all the emoluments that follow high profes- 
sional distinction. The means, too — upright and honorable — 
that enabled him to reach this eminence, proved the strength 
and the broad basis of his reputation, and gave the most relia- 
ble promise of a happy and prosperous future. He could well, 
then, and with a prudent confidence, contemplate a new and 
important relation in life ; and he thence resolved to seek, at 
the domestic altar, those solid and precious enjoyments that 
can only be hoped for or found in a congenial, affectionate, and 
enduring union of the sexes. Accordingly, in the Fall of 
1823, having previously engaged his heart to a lady, young, 
lovely, and admired for her personal charms and for the bright- 
ness of her intellect and her acquirements, he was married to 
a daughter descended, on both sides, from ancestors pre-emi- 
nently revered and distinguished in the Revolutionary annals 
of South Carolina for chivalry and patriotism, and for a pure 
and self-sacrificing devotion to American liberty. To our well- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 269 

informed readers we need not elucidate this text by repeating 
the historic names of Middleton and Rutledge — patriots and 
statesmen of an age that " tried men's souls," and which, for 
good or for evil, consecrated or doomed their characters with 
posterity. 

This alliance — cherished and heartily sanctioned by the 
parents of the bride — enlarged the happiness of their adopted 
son, and widened the circle of his associations ; but it did not 
interrupt his professional labors, or abate the ardor with which 
he had previously pursued his studies or engagements. In his 
habits of industry he found time to cultivate the gladness of his 
his new estate, and, withal, to forward the business of his clients> 
and still to augment, by close and continued literary research 
his large stock of learning. Such, indeed, was his unrelaxed 
observance of all these voluntary duties, that the honeymoon ) 
which, to most others, is a lengthened carnival of exhausting 
or unprofitable pleasure, was to him — in the brightness and 
freshness of his joy — only a season of quiet felicity, softened 
and refined in the abscence of all nuptial parade, by the purity 
and significance of strong but silent emotions. 

This last important step, on his part, was soon followed by 
a new professional association, which, after a peaceful and hap- 
py existence for nearly the fourth of a century, was amicably 
terminated within the last few years, leaving the parties where 
that association found them, mutually allied and bound together 
in reciprocal sentiments of profound and unalterable confidence 
and attachment. 

A member of the Nashville bar, raised and educated in 
that city, and fortunately favored with a large practice and a 
corresponding income, finding himselt unable to keep up the 
business of the office, invited the partnership to which we refer 
and which, after some honorable scruples, was, at last, politely 
accepted. By an arrangement between the parties of their re- 
spective branches of labor, the subject under our pen was 
placed in a position which, whilst it best suited his disposition, 
and his particular learning, gave him a fine field for the exer- 
cise and display of his surpassing talents and abilities in the 
higher departments of jurisprudence. To his care was assigned, 
by a joint and cordial consent, all the service in the Courts of 



270 Evansvtlle and its Men of Mark. 

Chancery and in the Supreme Court, and to his partner the 
business of the common law courts, State and Federal, together 
with the financial duties and adjustments of their office, and the 
task of their correspondence, at home and abroad, commensu- 
rate in its extent with nearly all the commercial litigation of 
half the State. 

We do not intend to report in further detail the history of 
this long partnership, and only stop to add, that the parties 
harmonized and prospered for many years ; one of them — stu- 
diously and exclusively pursuing his profession — continued to 
gather, all the time, fresh laurels and high renown ; while the 
other, more flexible in his resolutions — we write by permission 
and without offence — was too frequently won away by the 
whisperings of his own political ambition, or by the flattering 
and seductive persuasions of the popular tongue. The former, 
we know, does not repent his prudence, — the latter will not say 
perhaps, that he was overwise. Their destinies, though they 
are both happily content in their present fortunes, differ widely, 
and in the contrast, their best friends may judge between them 
which of the two has most reason to rejoice in the policy or the 
good sense that caused those diverging movements in their 
several lives. But naturally and sincerely averse, as the able 
and virtuous citizen of our text has ever been to public honor 
and service, his name, twice in his time, has been suspended at 
the hustings — once without his knowledge or consent, and, 
again, after a long interval, when, in an important crisis in our 
State legislation, he yielded reluctant obedience to a call, which 
under the circumstances, he could not properly disregard. On 
both of these occasions his popularity, founded solely on his 
great abilities and his acknowledged integrity, carried him tri- 
umphantly through the polls, and, in the first instance, consid- 
erably ahead of time-honored and influential competitors, and 
that, too, without a serious effort on his part : for, contrary to 
our custom here, and the uniform practice of candidates, he 
never went out of his way to seek favor and support, and only 
addressed the people when he was occasionally, but rarely called 
up in the large assemblies that sometimes convened in Nash- 
ville during a political canvass. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 271 

It was thus, that, in 1834, he was a member of the conven- 
tion that framed the present Constitution of Tennessee, and it 
was thus, too, that he served his county and its wealthy and 
enlightened metropolis in the Legislature of that State. 
In both situations he exalted his own high character, and was 
honored and distinguished by all men of every party for his 
great learning and integrity, and for the profound and practical 
wisdom he displayed on all questions under consideration and 
debate in those important assemblies. If he ever set any par- 
ticular value on his own services or his influence in either of 
these situations, his native delicacy has not suffered him, we 
are sure, to whisper the silent compliment to his own bosom. 
But all who have noticed his acts, and witnessed the diligence, 
the thought and the judgment he daily manifested in discharg- 
ing his official duties, will join us in saying that by his knowl- 
edge, and by the confidence and admiration with which he 
inspired his compeers, he was chiefly instrumental in engrafting 
on our jurisprudence many important and beneficial reforms. 
He has never failed, indeed, everywhere to laugh at, condemn 
and assault the idle forms, the barbarisms, the fictions, and all 
the learned nonsense and jargon of the old law, and, we dare 
say, he heartily rejoiced in the deadly blows which he success- 
fully dealt upon these insufferable relics of a darker or more 
designing period. But we must hasten to the close of a memoir 
already drawn beyond its intended limits. 

Mr. Fogg, as our readers will have observed, is approach- 
ing the conclusion of his fifty-seventh period ; but a sound con- 
stitution, fortified and strengthened by a habit of strictest tem- 
perance in all the pleasures and good things ot the world give 
him a hopeful guarantee of lengthened years. He inherits this 
promise, indeed, from a long-lived ancestry, and is not likely, 
we are sure, to forfeit or endanger his chances on life by an im- 
prudent act, or by an undue indulgence that would be caclulated 
to impair his health, or shorten the number of his days. In 
stature he is about five feet seven inches in height, of a vigorous 
and rotund frame, with a quiet, pleasing and benign counte- 
nance, and a light gray eye, which, though it does not sufficiently 
herald his extraordinary intellect, evinces deep and deliberate 
thought and great reflection. Nevertheless, that eye readily 



272 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

beams an approving smile, 01* drops a sympathetic tear. It 
always sparkles brightly under joyous or pleasurable emotions, 
and is altogether unused to bitter, scornful or indignant looks. 
The marked lines in face, and his blanched locks, indicate more 
years than he has passed ; but care and great sorrows frequently 
leave their indelible impress, and alter and relax, without 
fatally weakening the faculties of the mind, or the muscular 
powers of the body. 

Of these cares and sorrows our good friend has, of late 
years, tasted deep and felt much. Called, in a sudden and un- 
expected hour, to mourn, in an early manhood, the loss of a 
noble, generous and accomplished son, — the senior of three 
only children — wise and learned, as he was, beyond his tender 
age, beloved and honored by the young, and full of all good 
promises as to the future, his disconsolate fathtr had scarcely 
ceased to weep over an object too well loved ever to be forgot- 
ten, when, in an hour quite as sudden and overwhelming, the 
" angel of death " stood again at his door. An only daughter, 
lovely, and of rare endowments and abilities, the fairest and 
brightest jewel of his heart, praised and everywhere courted 
and caressed, a sweet rose of the spring in its early and most 
delicious bloom, sank to a most untimely grave, leaving one 
only remaining child to comfort is grief or desolation, by hold- 
ing up a solitary but dear and hopeful light in the house of 
mourning. That he should, for a time, languish and repine 
under these great afflictions, was to be expected of a father so 
full of kindness and affection ; but Heaven, we are assured, all 
in due time " tempers the breeze to the shorn lamb "; and we 
rejoice to know that the wounds which bowed a strong man to 
the earth are gradually healing, though the scars thereof can 
never be effaced. 

We have said before that this excellent man is, in his gen- 
eral manner and bearing, habitually quiet and unobtrusive. 
But this, we must add, is only his every-day out-of-door dress ; 
for those who know him best will testify to his warm feelings, 
his generous and noble disposition, and to the happy and inter- 
esting fervor which, in a circle of cherished and confiding 
friends, oftentimes turns his natural and accustomed gravity 
into sounds of joyous mirth, or accents of animated and highly 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 273 

excited colloquy. In such scenes he delights in the sportive 
and well told anecdote, or unconsciously rising from his seat he 
lectures and enlightens his small audience with vehement 
learning on any topic that may be started. Nor does his au- 
thoritative manner on such occasions prove against him either 
vanity or presumption. No man condemns these unworthy 
vices more than he does ; no man is more free from their hate- 
ful practice. Such indeed, is the gentleness and simplicity of 
his heart, that he never manifests a feeling of pride or superi- 
ority, but seems, in the eyes of every one, to be the only person 
who is ignorant of his own acknowledged and commanding 
powers. And in this respect, we must pause to say, he imitates 
the finest example of true greatness — for, it may be well re- 
peated, that nothing more conclusively shows a want of true 
merit and greatness than a vain assumption of these rare and 
inestimable endowments. 

In his speeches at the bar and everywhere else, he is clear, 
cogent and methodical, and never injures by dilating an argu- 
ment. He labors to convince the mind, and seldom attempts 
the passions or the imaginations of men ; hence, he is always 
forcible, terse and succinct. But hurried away by his feelings, 
we have seen him, at times, rise to the sublimity of real 
eloquence ; and, long or short, as his speeches may be, his audi- 
ence — always charmed with his wisdom and evident sincerity 
— adhere in silence to his accents, and never fail to seize with 
avidity the last words that fall from his lips. 

Such is the short but faithful history of the subject of this 
memoir ; such his virtues and his learning ; such the traits of 
his amiable and unblemished personal character ; and, as such, 
he is, and we can truly add, without an enemy to mar or inter- 
rupt his peace and happiness. Many may equal — all should 
emulate — but none can rival or excel his worth. — Review. 

He was a friend of many of Evansville's enterprises, and 
was often consulted in regard to questions which threatened the 
overthrow of the young city. 



35 




Southern Indiana in the War. 



TWENTT-POUETH REGIMENT. 



•;HE Administration did not realize, when the rebellion 
commenced, the immense task it had undertaken. 
Hence, but a small force was called to meet, what was then 
thought to be, an immediate emergency. The call was promptly 
filled. The martial spirit of the West was aroused, and the 
number of volunteers exceeded the troops demanded. By inces- 
sant application to the President and War Department, per- 
mission was given C. M. Allen and others to raise four additional 
regiments in Indiana, and a request was made to that effect 
to Governor Morton, by the Secretary of War. The Governor, 
accordingly, on the 22d of June, 1861, issued orders, through 
his Adjutant-Genaral, that these regiments should be recruited 
in the first., second and third Congressional districts, popularly 
called " The Pocket." 

The Twenty-fourth was recruited and organized under this 
order, and rendezvoused at Vincennes. A military camp was 
a novelty to the citizens of that section, and for miles around 
they flocked to " Camp Knox " with baskets filled with sub- 
stantial fare for their friends — the volunteers. Many warm 
friendships were formed at this camp, and some, who were then 
visitors, have since been the heroes of hard-fought battles. 

On the 31st of July the regiment was mustered into the 
service of the United States by Lieutenant-Colonel T. J. Wood, 
U. S. A. Its roster was as follows : 

Field and Staff Officers. — Colonel, Alvin P. Hovey, Mount 
Vernon ; Lieutenant-Colonel, John Gerber, Madison ; Major 
Cyrus C Hines, Indianapolis ; Adjutant, Richard F. Baxter, 
Mount Vernon ; Regimental Quartermaster, John M. Clark, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 275 

Vincennes; Surgeon, Robert B. Jessup, Vincennes ; Assistant 
Surgeon, John W. Davis, Vincennes; Chaplain, Charles Fitch, 
Mount Vernon. 

Company A. — Captain, Hugh Erwin, Mitchell ; First Lieu- 
tenant, G-eorge Sheeks, Mitchell ; Second Lieutenant, Hiram F. 
Baxton, Bedford. 

Company B. — Captain, Solomon Dill, Paoli ; First Lieu- 
tenant, John W. Tucker, Orleans ; Second Lieutenant, Stephen 
H. Southwick, Paoli. 

Company C. — Captain, John F. Grill, Evansville; First 
Lieutenant, Charles Larch, Mount Vernon ; Second Lieutenant, 
William Miller, Vincennes. 

Company D. — Captain, Nelson F. Bulton, Washington : 
First Lieutenant, Jacob Covert, Washington ; Second Lieuten- 
ant, Samuel M. Smith, Washington. 

Company E. — Captain, Samuel R. Morgan, Petersburg ; 
First Lieutenant, John E. Phillips, Princeton ; Second Lieuten- 
ant. John T. Deweeson, Petersburg. 

Company F. — Captain, Amizon Connett, Evansville ; First 
Lieutenant, Thomas E. Ashley, Evansville ; Second Lieutenant, 
Joseph A. Launders, Evansville. 

Company G. — Captain, Wm. T. Spicely, Orleans ; First 
Lieutenant, Charles T. Jenkens, Orleans ; Second Lieutenant, 
Arthur W. Gray, Orleans. 

Company H. — Captain, Wm. L. Merrick, Petersburg ; First 
Lieutenant, John B. Hutchens. Petersburg; Second Lieutenant, 
James J. Jones, Winslow. 

Company I. — Captain, Samuel T. McGuffin, Loogootee ; 
First Lieutenant, James Wood, Loogootee; Second Lieutenant, 
Benjamin J. Summers, Loogootee. 

Company K. — Captain, Thomas Johnson, Washington : 
First Lieutenant, Francis M. Redburn, Princeton ; Second Lieu- 
tenant, William T. Rolland, Cynthiana. 

Colonel Hovey at once instituted drill, and thoroughly in- 
structed the men in their duty as soldiers. He was ably assisted 
by Captain Spicely. 

On the 16th of August muskets were drawn, and the regi- 
ment was equipped for the field. 

Then there was an urgent demand for troops in Missouri 



276 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

to meet the invasion of that State by the rebel General Price. 
Indiana responded to that call by sending several regiments, 
including the Twenty-fourth. 

On the 18th the regiment left Camp Knox, and marching 
to the depot, took cars for St. Louis, and bivouacked opposite the 
city that night. The next morning crossed the Mississippi, 
marched through the streets of St. Louis, and camped in Park 
Lafayette. Here it remained a few days, and then marched to 
Carondelet, seven miles below St. Louis, where it formed camp, 
and was assigned to guard the gunboats, then in process of con- 
struction. 

On the 6th of September, Colonel Hovey, with six compa- 
nies of the regiment, were conveyed twenty-five miles on the 
Iron Mountain railroad. They then made a rapid march of fif- 
teen miles, and reached a rebel camp, but the enemy had fled. 
The detachment then returned to Carondelet. 

On the 16th the regiment embarked on a steamer, and 
sailed for St. Louis. On learning that the Army of the Poto- 
mac was their destination, the men filled the air with their glad 
shouts. Arriving at St. Louis, the regiment was ordered to 
take cars for Jefferson City, Missouri. 

The train slowly moved, and soon found the track so much 
obstructed by weeds as to impede progress. After forty-eight 
hours' hard labor, the cars ran one hundred and twenty-five 
miles. The regiment went into camp at Syracuse. 

On the 20th the regiment marched seven miles along the 
railroad, and halted where the pioneers were constructing a 
bridge. Here it guarded the workmen and fortified the position. 
The bridge being completed, the regiment crossed on the 24th, 
and made a wearisome march over a plowed prairie to George- 
town. 

On its arrival here it was brigaded with the Eighteenth 
and Twenty-second Indiana, the brigade being under command 
of Colonel Jeff C. Davis, of the Twenty-second, and applied 
itself to the learning of the various maneuvres necessary for an 
active campaign. In a few weeks afterward the regiment 
reached Sedalia, and taking cars, arrived at Tipton, where it 
went into camp. Here it was assigned to General Hunter'fa 
division. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 277 

General Fremont was then engaged in gathering an army, 
preparatory to moving on the rebel General Price, at Spring- 
field, Missouri. The troops, rapidly as they could be properly 
equipped, were marched to Warsaw, on the Osage river. The 
river at this point is about three hundred yards wide with a 
swift current. It was soon bridged, and the regiment, joining 
the expedition, crossed on the 24th of October, and bivouacked. 
Next day it marched seven miles, then halted and waited for 
rations from Tipton. Rations having been procured, the regi- 
ment marched eight miles and bivouacked. It was then assigned 
to another brigade. This change gave Colonel Hovey the com- 
mand of a brigade, leaving Lieutenant-Colonel John Gerber in 
command of the regiment. 

Soon orders were received for the army to march on Spring- 
field ; and the soldiers, with cheerful faces and gladdened hearts, 
pushed rapidly forward. 

On the 3d of November General Fremont's advance entered 
Springfield, driving out the loitering rebel cavalry Here Fre- 
mont's army halted for the purpose of concentrating and falling 
on the rebel General Price, then posted at Wilson's Creek ; but 
before an advance was made, General Fremont was superceded 
by General Hunter, and the proposed campaign was abandoned. 

The regiment left Springfield on the 9th, and reached War- 
saw on the 14th. After resting one day it marched to Tipton, 
reaching there on the 18th, and went into their old camp, hav- 
ing marched three hundred miles. It was now Winter, yet the 
new troops were kept in constant motion. 

On the 8th of December the regiment marched to Lamoine 
bridge, and while engaged in putting up huts for shelter, was 
ordered to join the Warrensburg expedition. The object of 
this movement was to intercept, if possible, capture a large 
number of recruits and a large wagon train, on their way to 
join Price's army. The expedition was planned and executed 
by Colonel Jeff. C. Davis. One thousand five hundred rebels, 
with their baggage, arms and ammunition, were captured. 

The regiment went into camp, at Tipton, on the 23d of 
December, and a deep snow had fallen, and there was no shel- 
ter for the men. Scraping away the snow, they built large fires 
and bivouacked. Soon Sibley tents were dratvn, and the men 
enjoyed comfortable quarters. 



278 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

On the 7th of February the regiment broke caamp ; and, 
after a severe march, reached Jefferson City on the 10th. 

On the 15th it took cars for St. Louis, and arriving there, 
embarked on a steamer, under orders to join General Grant's 
army, on the Cumberland river. Sailing down the Mississippi 
and up the Ohio and Cumberland rivers, the regiment arrived 
at Fort Donelson on the 18th, two days after its surrender. 

On the 1st of March the regiment marched to Fort Henry, 
and on its arrival there, was brigaded with the Eleventh Indi- 
ana and Eighth Missouri, the brigade being under command of 
Colonel Morgan L. Smith, of the Eighth Missouri. This brig- 
ade was attached to General Lew. Wallace's division. Major 
Hynes being promoted to the Lieutenant-Colonelcy of the Fifty- 
seventh Indiana, took leave of the regimeat, and Captain 
Spicely was promoted to the Majority. 

On the 7th the regiment, with the Twenty-third Indiana, 
embarked on the steamer Telegraph No. 3, and sailed up the 
Tennessee river with the fleet of General Grant. On reaching 
Savannah the regiment landed, and accompanied General Lew. 
Wallace's division on a reconnoissance to Crump's Landing, 
seven miles distant. No enemy beiug encountered, the regi- 
ment returned with the division to the boats. 

Remaining on the bDats five days, the division — to which 
the regiment was attached — disembarked and went into camp 
on the bluffs at Crump's Landing on the 18th. Here it en- 
gaged in drill, picketing, and other duties, until the 5th April. 

Meanwhile General Grant had landed his main army at 
Pittsburg Landing, and placed it in position to cover and defend 
that point, waited the advance of Buell's army, which, by easy 
marches across the country, by way of Nashville and Bowling 
Green, was expected to reinforce him. But the wily rebel Gen- 
erals were fully cognizant of our plans, and, before Buell 
effected a junction with Grant, assumed the offensive. 

At midnight of the 5th of April, the camp of General Lew. 
Wallace's division was aroused by the beating of the "assem- 
bly." The division marched through rain and mud to Adams- 
ville. No enemy being found, the troops, weary and exhausted, 
returned. 

Early on the moruing of the 6th, the sleeping troops of 
Wallace's division were wakened by the roar of artillery. The 



IZvansville and Us Men of Mark. 279 

General ordered the division to form and prepare for an instant 
march. At noon the command received orders, and moved for 
the field of battle. Proceeding several miles it was ascertained 
that because of the falling back of Grant's army our line of 
march would lead to the enemy's rear, and expose the division 
to capture or destruction. A countermarch was at once made, 
and General Wallace's division reached Pittsburg Landing at 
dusk. It was immediately hurried to the front and placed in 
position. The Twenty-fourth was placed on the extreme right 
of the division. No demonstration was made that night by 
either of the opposing armies, and — save the regular thirty-min- 
ute guns from the gunboats Tyler and Lexington — all was quiet,. 

Early next morning General Lew. Wallace opened the bat- 
tle. Bringing an enfilading fire to bear on a rebel battery, it 
was soon driven from position. Then his whole division ad- 
vanced, and reached an open field. Beyond this field was tim- 
ber, through the edge of which the head of a rebel column 
appeared, marching to our right. On this column batteries 
were opened, which were sharply responded to by the rebels, 
Skirmishers were thrown forward. Wallace's main line ad- 
vanced, and the rebel column disapppeared in the woods. 

The rebel line was again encountered beyond these woods. 
The regiment advanced, with the brigade, and held its position 
under a severe fire from the enemy. A well-served battery of 
the rebels, named Watson's Louisiana battery, caused sad havoc 
in our ranks. Here the gallant Lieutenant Stephen H. South- 
wick, while urging forward his company, fell. Lieutenant 
Colonel John Gorber rode up, and, while exciting the men to 
avenge the loss of thier Lieutenant, was struck by a cannon 
ball and instantly killed. The brave Captain Samuel T. Mc- 
Guffin here also fell. The Twenty-fourth held its position four 
hours, though repeatedly charged by the enemy. 

At 2 p. m. the enemy's line gave way, then a charge was 
ordered along the whole Union line. The enemy fled in con- 
fusion. The Twenty-fourth joined in the pursuit, took a num- 
ber ot prisoners, and bivouacked that night on the battle field. 
The regiment lost heavily in this engagement. The next day 
was occupied ;in burying the dead and providing for the wounded. 
For several days the regiment bivouacked in line of battle. On 



280 Ilvansville and its Men of Mark. 

the 16th tents were received, and the Twenty-fourth went into 
camp near the battle field, where it remained until the 4th of 
May. It then removed to Gravel Ridge. 

During the seige of Corinth the regiment was stationed at 
Gravel Ridge, and attached to the reserve of General Halleck's 
army, then advancing by parallels on that important position, 
Corinth was evacuated by the enemy on the 30th, then the 
Union troops took possession. About this time Colonel Alvin 
P. Hovey was commissioned a Brigadier-General, and Captain 
Spicely promoted to the Colonelcy. Adjutant Barton was ap- 
pointed Lieutenant-Colonel, and Captain Grill received the 
Majority. 

On the 2d of June the regiment was ordered to march for 
Memphis. Breaking up camp, the line of march was taken, 
passing through a flourishing section of country never before 
penetrated by Union troops. Private property was then re- 
spected, and no foraging allowed. Hence, neither ruined house- 
hold nor devastated plantation marked the route of the moving 
column. By easy marches, the troops passed through Purdy, 
Bolivar and Summerville, halting long enough in each place to 
rest. The weather was intensely warm and the roads were 
dusty, but good water was plentiful. Thus, by easy marches, 
the regiment reached Memphis on the 17th, and found it in 
possession of Union troops. Halting in the suburbs of the city 
the men were preparing to camp, when the regiment was or- 
dered to march into the city. Moving in a terrible storm, it 
bivouacked in the rain, and the next day encamped on Front 
street, where it remained for twelve days. 

On the 30th the regiment embarked on a steamer bound 
for "White River, and, sailing down the Mississippi and up the 
White River, reached Crockett's Bluff on the 3d of July Dis- 
embarking, it joined the forces of Colonel Fitch, then exploring 
that section of the country. 

On the 6th Colonel Spicely was ordered to take the right 
wing of the regiment and move in the direction of Grand Prai- 
rie, and instructed to attack the enemy wherever found. Col. 
Fitch was to follow, in supporting distance, with the brigade. 

The detachment under Colonel Spicely marched at 4 a. m. 
and encountered the enemy's pickets a short distance from 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 281. 

camp. Brisk skirmishing ensued, and the rebels were pressed 
back for three miles, until the command reached Grand Prairie, 
when it halted in the edge of the timber skirting the prairie. 
Here the enemy was found in line of battle on the open prairie, 
a few hundred yards distant, showing a front of two companies 
of cavalry. Colonel Spicely shrewdly suspecting the intention 
of this maneuvre, deployed three companies as pickets and 
flankers, and sent Lieutenant Barton with a squad of men, for 
reinforcements. The main force of the enemy, who was then 
secreted in the woods in our rear, seeing the three companies 
advance, arose from cover, and dashed through the woods, with 
drawn sabres, on the rear of our reserves. The command 
" About, face ! " was at once given, and as the rebels charged 
they were met by a spirited fire. A sharp fight ensued, but 
soon the rebels fled, leaving their killed and wounded on the 
field. The Twenty-fourth had only eighty men against four 
hundred rebels. Its loss was one killed and twenty-one 
wounded. That of the enemy, sixty killed and wounded, and 
thirteen prisoners. Colonel Fitch, hearing the musketry, hur- 
ried his brigade to our support, but arrived too late to partici- 
pate in the fight. 

Next day the brigade marched through Grand Prairie, 
driving the enemy wherever he made a stand, and by marching 
rapidly that day and night reached Clarenden next morning. 
The enemy having disappeared, the brigade embarked on steam- 
boats and sailed down White River and up the Mississippi to 
Helena, where it disembarked and went into camp. The object 
of this expedition was to divert the attention of the enemy 
while General Curtis moved into Arkansas from Missouri. This 
was accomplished. 

The regiment had a neat camp at Helena, and was occupied 
in drill, expeditions, and scouting. On the 24th the regiment 
was pleasantly surprised by the arrival of General Hovey with 
the rest of the brigade. General Hovey immedialely assumed 
command of the post and infused activity into the troops. The 
next day two companies of the regiment went up the river, and 
destroyed all the boats, canoes and rafts which they could find, 
in order to prevent the enemy from having communication with 



36 



282 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

the opposite shore of the Mississippi. Several days of hard 
and hazardous labor were passed on this expedition. 

On the 4th of August the regiment marched to Clarenden 
in support of a cavalry force under General Washburn. No 
enemy being encountered, it returned to Helena and worked on 
the fortifications On the 15th of November it embarked with 
an expedition under General Hovey for White River, but on 
arriving at the mouth of that stream found that the boats could 
not pass over the oar. The troops landed, procured a large 
quantity of supplies, and again re-embarking, returned to 
Helena. 

On the 27th another expedition was projected, in which the 
regiment took a prominent part. The infantry was under com- 
mand of General Hovey, and supported the cavaly under Gen- 
eral Washburn. General Grant was making preparations to 
move, overland, against Vicksburg. The object of this move- 
ment was to destroy the Tennessee and Mississippi Central 
Railroad. The command embarked on transports, and sailing 
down the Mississippi, landed twenty miles below Helena, on the 
Mississippi shore ; thence marched to Coldwater. General Ho- 
vey halted his infantry column at Coldwater, and dispatched 
Colonel Spicely, with the Eleventh and Twenty-fourth Indiana 
as a support to the cavalry. Colonel Spicely reached the 
Yachna river, and detailing two companies to guard a ferry, 
marched to Michell's Cross Roads, where he halted until the 
next evening, the 1st of December, Here he was met by the 
cavalry of General Washburn, who had accomplished their mis- 
sion, by destroying much rolling-stock and cutting two railroads. 
That night sharp musketry firing was heard in the direction of 
the ferry. The regiment started to reinforce their comrades. 
The cavalry, however, arrived first, and the Twenty-fourth, 
rapidly following, had a smart skirmish with the enemy. On 
this occasion General Hovey rode twelve miles in forty minutes 
to rejoin his favorite regiment, and was received with wild en- 
thusiasm. The rest of the infantry rejoined the command at 
the ferry next day, and remained there while the cavalry made 
another raid on a railroad. On the return of the cavalry, the 
force marched back to the river, embarked on steamers, and 
reached Helenu on the 7th. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 283 

On the 11th of January, 1863, the regiment accompanied 
a fleet under command of General Gorman, which was to ascend 
White Eiver to act in conjunction with General McOlernand, 
who was then moving on Arkansas Post. The regiment reached 
St. Charles on the 14th, after being exposed to a violent snow 
storm, which caused much suffering to the men. Duvall's Bluff 
was reached on the 16th, and was found evacuated by the ene- 
my, but the command, landing, pursued the retreating foe, cap- 
turing a number of prisoners. The next day Colonel Spicely, 
witli his command, proceeded thirty miles to Des Arc, where 
the railroad crosses the river. The rebels again fled, leaving 
their sick in the hospital. Colonel Spicely paroled the sick, 
destroyed the telegraph, captured a number of small arms, and 
the military library of Jeff. Thomas, and returned to the main 
force. The fleet then sailed for Helena, arriving there on the 
21st of January. 

The last expedition from Helena participated in by the reg- 
iment was for the purpose of opening the Yazoo Pass, and thus 
reach the rear of Vicksburg. This pass was a chute from the 
Mississippi to the Coldwater River. The rebels, however, an- 
ticipated this movement, and erected Fort Greenwood, which 
the expedition was unable to reach by land, and the gunboats 
could not approach by water. Our forces worked several days 
and removed the logs out of the bayou, then marched to Wood- 
bum and had a skirmish with the enemy. The expedition then 
returned to the boats and went back to Helena, where the troops 
disembarked and went into camp. 

General Grant was now gathering his grand army to make 
his great move against Vicksburg. "Notwithstanding the many 
repulses the Union army had experienced in attempting to cap- 
ture that rebel stronghold, the troops at Helena were anxious 
to renew the attack. 

On the 10th ol April the welcome order to march was re- 
ceived, and General Hovey's division, embarking on transports, 
sailed down the Mississippi, and landed at Milliken's Bend on 
the 14th Tbe next day was employed in preparing lor an ac- 
tive campaign. On the 16th Hovey's division started by way 
of Richmond, to march across the bend opposite Vicksburg and 
reached Roundaway bayou on the 21st, where they halted un- 



284 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

til a bridge was thrown across the bayou. The march was then 
resumed, and continued until Perkins' plantation was reached. 
On the 28th the division embarked on steamboats, and reached 
Hard Times Landing. The next day the regiment witnessed 
the bombardment of Grand Gulf. On the 30th, Hovey's divis- 
ion crossed, the Mississippi. Landing late in the evening, it 
pushed rapidly forward, and reached Thompson's Cross Roads, 
sixteen miles distant, at 3 o'clock next morning. Here General 
Benton's brigade, of Osterhaus' division, was actively engaged 
with a rebel battery posted on a hill in their front, supported 
by infantry. Hovey's division at once advanced to Benton's 
support, when the rebels retired. Our weary troops then biv- 
ouacked. 

The next morning was fought the battle of Magnolia, or 
Thompson's Cross Roads. A corps of Pemberton's rebel army, 
and Hovey's and Osterhaus' divisions were the troops princi- 
pally engaged. The battle was commenced by the rebels ad- 
vancing on the division of General Osterhaus, driving in his 
pickets, and pressing heavily his main line. General Hovey 
ordered Colonel Spicely to advance with the Twenty-fourth to 
the support of Osterhaus. A heavy cane-brake lined the cliffs 
in front. When the regiment heard the voice of their gallant 
Colonel, giving the command, " Forward ! " it moved swiftly 
through the cane-brake, clambered over the cliffs, and reached 
Benton's brigade, which had just repulsed the enemy with ter- 
rible slaughter. At this moment General Osterhaus rode up, 
and ordered Colonel Spicely to move his regiment quickly to 
the left, and fight as his judgment dictated. " That suits me !" 
said Colonel Spicely, and, ordering his regiment to move on the 
double-quick, prepared to charge a rebel battery which was an- 
noying our line. When the regiment arrived within a few 
yards of the battery, the Eleventh Indiana had captured it. 
The enemy then fell back, took a strong position, and awaited 
another assault. 

General Hovey's whole division having now reinforced the 
shattered lines of General Osterhaus, an advance was ordered. 
The Twenty-fourth was sent to the support of Colonel Slack's 
brigade. As the regiment gained the summit of a hill, the 
rebels were discovered massing on an opposite hill. Between 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 285 

the opposing parties was a level, open country, through which 
run a deep ravine. This ravine formed an excellent defensive 
position. To reach it was the object of both the rebel and fed- 
eral soldiers. Its shelter was gained by the Twenty-fourth. 
Quickly forming, it poured a galling fire into the rebel ranks, 
driving him back in confusion. The foe, forming his shattered 
ranks, charged ; but from that ravine issued a fire, so sharp 
and destructive, that the enemy was again hurled back. For 
an hour and a half were the rebel columns preciptated on this 
position, only to be repulsed with loss. They were finally com- 
pelled to retreat in great disorder. The regiment, owing to the 
protection afforded by the ravine met with but small loss — five 
being killed, and eighteen wounded. That night it bivouacked 
on the battle field. 

The next day the regiment marched through Port Gibson, 
the enemy having evacuated that place. The following day the 
regiment reached Grand Gulf, which had also been abandoned 
by the enemy. On the 5th a march of twenty miles was made, 
and the regiment encamped at Hawkins' ferry . 

While stationed here. General Grant issued orders congrat- 
ulating the troops on their success, and commending their 
bravery on the battle field. 

On the 10th the regiment advanced ten miles toward Jack- 
son ; on the 12th our troops pressed the enemy, and, by hard 
skirmishing, drove him beyond Fourteen-mile Creek. The next 
day the regiment marched three miles, and, when near Edwards' 
Station, found the enemy in heavy force. 

Sharp skirmishing commenced, and the attention of the 
enemy was occupied, while General Sherman captured Jackson 
and McPherson fought the battle of Raymond. Then all our 
columns united, and moved on Vicksburg. 

On the 14th the regiment marched through Eaymond, and 
thence to Clinton, halting near Bolton on the evening of the 
following day. It was known that the rebels were in force and 
in strong, position at Baker's Creek, four miles distant, and it 
was evident he intended to make a desperate resistance to the 
further aduance of the Union army towards Vicksburg. Gen- 
eaal McClernand's corps was in the advance, and he, without 
waiting for the rest of the army to arrive, opened the battle of 
Champion's Hill. 



286 Evamville and its Men of Mark. 

On May 16th, at 6 A. m., General Hovey's division moved 
in the advance — General McGinnis' brigade being in the ad- 
vance of the division, and the Twenty-fourth the advance regi- 
ment in the brigade. Three companies of the regiment were 
thrown out as skirmishers, and the command moved cautiously 
forward. The advance was uninterrupted until 10 A. M., when 
our cavalry returned from the front, reporting the enemy posted 
in force on Champion's Hill. 

The brigade was formed in line of battle, and advancing to 
the open field soon came in contact with the enemy. In a short 
time the fight became desperate. The rebels massed and 
cnarged on the brigade battery, which was supported by the 
Thirty-fourth Indiana. Colonel Spicely ordered the Twenty- 
fourth to give the rebels an oblique fire. This volley caused 
them to fall back, then our lines advanced eight hundred yards 
into the woods, driving the enemy. Here the rebels massed in 
front of Hovey's division, and made a terrible onset. They 
were met by a severe fire, but their overpowering number was 
pressing severely on the right center of Hovey's division, when 
Colonel Spicely received orders to move to his support. Al- 
though sharply engaged with the enemy, the Colonel executed 
the order, moving by the left flank, to the support of the Elev- 
enth Indiana, whbh having been overpowered, had fallen back 
a short distance. The Twenty-fourth moved to the assistance 
ot the brave Eleventh, and, while the Eleventh retired, the 
Twenty-fourth fell into position, and held the point with great 
coolness, under a severe enfilading fire. An Indiana Colonel, 
who witnessed the contest, said : "I was compelled to lie with 
my regiment where I could see the rebels massing in front of 
the Twenty-fourth. Column after column advanced, delivering 
their fire, and, as one column gave way, a fresh one took its 
place, keeping the Twenty-fourth enveloped in flame ! My 
blood boiled for my Hoosier brethren, to whom I could give no 
assistance. I wondered how they endured the slaughter." 

The enemy threw a large part of his force against the por- 
tion of the line held by the Twenty-fourth, yet it stood unwav- 
ering, though its brave men fell by scores. It met and returned 
the converging fire of the enemy, holding him in check until 
the main line gave way, then the regiment retired seventy-five 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 287 

yards to straighten the line, and poured into the massed rebel 
ranks a sheet of flame and lead. Again the regiment was com- 
pelled to change position, falling back a short distance, it again 
halted, and prepared to meet the surging foe. At this moment 
the colors fell, the staff having been oroken by a shot from the 
enemy. Lieutenant-Colonel Barton rushed forward, seized the 
colors, and defiantly waved them in the face of the enemy. A 
shot from the enemy shattered his arm. The regiment being 
out of ammunition, fell back, covered by fresh troops, and took 
position with the Eleventh Indiana, whose young and gallant 
Colonel had fallen severely wounded. Colonel Spicely took 
command of both regiments, replenished their cartridge boxes, 
and again moved to the front. McPherson's corps arrived, and 
fiercely charging the rebel rigbt, forced him to a disorderly 
retreat. 

Fresh troops rapidly pursued. The command of Colonel 
Spicely halted on the field of battle, and quietly rested after 
the victory they had so nobly won. For three hours the men 
of the Twenty-fourth had been engaged in constant battle ; 
they fired one hundred rounds each, and used the cartridges 
from the boxes of their fallen comrades. Half its effective force 
was disabled. Captain Felix G. Wellman, Lieutenant Jesse L. 
Cain, Lieutenant Ballwin, Assistant Surgeon T. M. C.Williams, 
Sergeant Delemater and J. W. Overton, with twenty-seven non- 
commissioned officers and men were killed. Lieutenant-Colonel 
Barton, Lieutenant Samuel Smith, Fred Butler .and H. H. Lee, 
were severely wounded. Of four hundred and eighty-five men 
who went into battle, only two hundred and eighty-three es- 
caped the fire of the enemy. 

General McG-innis' brigade halted on the field, and was 
detailed to bury the dead and care for the wounded. Tenderly 
were these duties performed. 

On the 19th the regiment marched to Black river bridge, 
Here our victorious army, following up the victory at Cham- 
pion's Hill, had charged the rebel rear guard, defeated it, and 
crossing the Black river, driven the rebel General Pemberton's 
army into the trenches at Vicksburg. On the 21st the brigade 
of General McGinnis crossed the Big Black river, and marched 
to the supporting line of the Union army, then encircling 



288 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Vicksburg. On the 22d the regiment moved to the front, and 
was placed in a ravine near the rebel works. An assault was 
made during that day on the enemy's works, but our forces were 
repulsed with much loss. 

The regiment intrenched in the ravine, and gradually ad- 
vancing, protected by trenches, reached a position where its 
sharp-shooters were able to pick off the rebel gunners, render- 
ing their artillery useless. On the 26th the regiment acted as 
a support to heavy artillery until the guns were placed in posi- 
tion, and the next day returned to the trenches. 

Our army, skirmishing by day and digging by night, 
tightened its grasp on the foe. On July 3d a flag of truce from 
the enemy asked for a cessation of hostilities. 

Then the heroes, who so long had listened to the familiar 
sound of musketry and the roar of artillery, leaped from their 
trenches and rifle-pits, and filled the echoing cliffs with their 
glad shouts. On the 4th of July, Vicksburg, together with the 
army of General Pemberton, was surrendered. 

General Hovey's division was not permitted to enter the 
city. General McGinnis — the gallant leader of the First brig- 
ade of Hovey's division, who had been in every march, and 
battle, and hardship, for sixty-three days — received leave of 
absence to visit his home. His position was filled by the cool, 
determined and brave Colonel W. T. Spicely, of the Twenty- 
fourth. The war-worn veterans of the First brigade — compris- 
ing the Eleventh, Twenty-fourth, Thirty-fourth, and Forty-sixth 
Indiana and Twenty-sixth Wisconsin — desiie no better leaders 
than the soldier McGinnis, and the gallant Spicely. 

On the morning of the 5th the brigade moved toward Big 
Black river bridge, where it arrived the next night and bivou- 
acked. The next morning the troops crossed Big Black river, 
and, with parched throats and blistered feet, marched rapidly 
forward. At dark they reached Bolton, where they bivouacked. 
The following morning the march was resumed, and the brigade 
reached Clinton and halted. The next day it arrived within 
two miles of Jackson, where it halted and bivouacked. On the 
11th the brigade took position in the line of investment of 
Jackson. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 289 

As it moved into position, General Hovey selected the 
Twenty -fourth to accompany him and staff on a reconnoissance. 
Under command of Major Grill, the regiment formed in line, 
and advanced through the woods, two companies being thrown 
out as skirmishers. The rebel pickets, on the Raymond road, 
were encountered and driven two miles. The regiment then 
rejoined the brigade, which, advancing rapidly through field 
and thicket, drove the enemy beyond the New Orleans and 
Great Western railroad. The brigade then bivouacked. The 
next day the advance was resumed, with the Twenty-fourth and 
Thirty -fourth in reserve. By heavy skirmishing the enemy 
was driven into his works, which our lines closely invested, and 
heavy picket firing closed the day. 

On the 13th the Twenty-fourth was moved to the front, 
where it skirmished all day. It remained on this advanced 
line until the morning of the 17th, when it was ascertained 
that the enemy had evacuated Jackson during the night previ- 
ous. The Union troops entered Jackson and destroyed the 
place. Several days were occupied in destroying the railroads 
diverging from Jackson. 

On the 21st the regiment marched for Vicksburg, arriving 
there on the 23d, much reduced in numbers, many of the men 
having fallen from fatigue on the march. It remained in camp 
until August 5th. Then embarked on a steamboat, and sailing 
down the Mississippi, arrived at Carrollton, six miles above New 
Orleans, on the 13th, 

At Carrollton, a well supplied market furnished every nec- 
essary and luxury, at reasonable rates, and the men, having the 
appetites of veterans, lived like epicures. The duties were 
light, and the city furnished sufficient amusement. This pleas- 
ant interval was broken on the 12th of September by orders to 
march. 

On that day the regiment crossed the Mississippi, landed 
at Algiers, and took the cars for Brashaer City ; on arriving 
there, camped and built quarters, which the men thatched with 
palm leaves. They left these cosy quarters on the 28th, and 
crossing Berwick Bay, camped in a small village of that name, 
and waited for the rest of the Thirteenth corps to arrive. The 
regiment was now connected with General Franklin's Teche ex- 

37 



290 Evansville antf, its Men of Mark. 

pedition, whose object was to rescue that fertile garden of Lou- 
isiana from rebel sway. This country was a great source of 
supply to the rebel army in the Trans-Mississippi department. 

On the 3d of October, the regiment marched to Franklin, 
overtaking and passing the Nineteenth corps at New Iberia. 
The route was through a rich country, the roads were lined with 
orange groves, and the plantations luxuriant with fields of the 
waving sugar cane. At New Iberia, Colonel Cameron, of the 
Twenty-fourth Indiana, received his commission as Brigadier 
General, and assumed command of the brigade, and Colonel 
Spicely returned to the Twenty-fourth. Resuming the march, 
the regiment reached Vermillion bayou, where it remained five 
days. On the 15th the march was again resumed, and at a late 
hour that night the regiment halted within ten miles of Ope- 
lousas. The regiment remained at this camp four days, haviug 
occasional skirmishes with a small rebel force. 

On the 23d the Thirteenth corps advanced, and driving a 
small rebel force, marched eight miles beyond Opelousas, to 
Barr's Landing, on Bayou Thibaux. This position was held 
until the 30th when the army fell back. On the 1st of Novem- 
ber our forces occupied the same position they held on the 20th 
of October. 

General Burbridge, in command of a small brigade, was 
stationed several miles in advance of the main army, to check 
the small force which had annoyed our march. On the 3d of 
November, the enemy, under command of General Green, made 
an attack on this detached brigade, with a largely superior force, 
and, after a short and severe engagement, routed General Bur- 
bridge and took most of his command prisoners. General Mc- 
Ginnis, hearing the musketry, moved quickly to the rescue, and 
falling on the exultant enemy, drove him from the field and 
recaptured the lederal camps. The regiment bivouacked on the 
battle field that night, and the next day fell back to Vermillion- 
ville, where it remained eleven days. Then marched through 
Iberia and Franklin to Brashaer City ; from thence it was con- 
veyed by rail to Algiers. 

No incident of importance occurred until the regiment re- 
enlisted as veterans. It was the first regiment in the Depart- 
ment of the Gulf which re-enlisted. The Twenty-fourth then 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 291 

left for Indianapolis. On its arrival there, it was furloughed 
for thirty days, and at the expiaation of which time it reported 
at Vincennes and was sent to Evansville. After remaining here 
three weeks, it embarked on a steamboat, and sailing down the 
Ohio and Mississippi, landed at Baton Rouge. Here it remained 
six months. Its soldierlike conduct during this stay, won for it 
the warm friendship of the people. Soldiering at Baton Rouge 
was the poetry of war. The members of the regiment will ever 
remember the many happy days passed in that pleasant village. 
In the Fall the regiment moved to Morganza Bend, where it 
went into camp and remained several months, protecting the 
navigation of the Mississippi. 

CONSOLIDATION. 

In December, 1864, the Twenty-fourth was consolidated 
with the Sixty-seventh Indiana, the united regiments being 
known as the Twenty-fourth Tha organization of the regi- 
ment was reduced to five companies, forming the left wing, 
while the same number of companies from the Sixty-seventh 
composed the right wing of the regiment. Colonel Spicely re- 
tained command of the regiment. Major Sears, of the Sixty- 
seventh was appointed Lieutenant-Colonel, and Captain Kelley, 
of the Sixty-seventh, Major. This organization increased the 
rank and file to eight hundred and fifty. Soon after its consol- 
idation the regiment embarked for New Orleans, and, on arriv- 
ing there, joined the expedition of General Can by against 
Mobile. 

In January, 1865, the regiment embarked on an ocean 
steamer, and sailing down the Mississippi, entered the Gulf of 
Mexico, and landed at Dauphin Island. From thence it sailed 
to Barancas, Florida, and on landing, were brigaded with the 
Sixty-ninth Indiana, and Seventy-sixth and Ninety-seventh Il- 
linois, designated as the Second brigade, Second division, Thir- 
teenth army corps. Colonel Spicely assumed command of the 
brigade, Lieutenant-Colonel Sears of the regiment. The brig- 
ede was then detached to join General Steele's column, at Pen- 
sacola, which was preparing to move to Florida and Alabama, 
with the purpose of diverting the attention of the enemy, while 

* 



292 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

General Canby moved with the Thirteenth and Sixteenth corps 
on the defences of Mobile. 

On the 20th of March the regiment left Pensacola, and 
after a severe march of eleven days, through swamps and bay- 
ous, reached the Tensas river, a short distance above Blakely. 
Moving rapidly forward, General Steele's column struck the 
Mobile and Montgomery railroad, at Pollard, destroying it so 
effectually as to prevent reinforcements, and then, turning west 
marched rapidly for Blakely, and joined the troops besieging 
that place. 

On the 2d of April, Colonel Spicely's brigade took position 
in the line of troops besieging Blakely, and the Twenty-fourth, 
being in the front line, bad much active service. The usual 
approaches were made by parallels, and warm skirmishing was 
constant. Our sharp-shooters protected themselves with logs, 
which they slowly rolled before them. On the 8th, Spanish 
Fort was evacuated by the rebels. This left Blakely the onlv 
defence of Mobile. It was decided at once to carry these works 
by assault. 

Colonel Spicely formed his brigade, with the Sixty-ninth 
Indiana and Ninety-seventh Illinois in front, and the Twenty- 
fourth Indiana, and Seventy-sixth Illinois in the supporting 
column. The range of the rebel guns was so short that the sup- 
porting line was equally exposed with the front. 

As the order to charge was given the brigade arose, and, 
with a rush and a cheer, scaled the rebel works. The fighting 
on the parapets was brief but desperate ; for the Union troops, 
swarming in, compelled surrender. The regiment lost thirty in 
killed and wounded. Thus ended its last, glorious battle in 
the Department of the Gulf. 

Soon after the capture of Blakely the regiment marched to 
Shark's Landing, where it remained until the 20th of April. It 
then embarked on a transport and dropped down the river to 
Mobile, which had surrendered after the fall of Spanish Fort 
and capture of Blakely. 

On the 22d the regiment sailed up the Alabama river with 
a fleet, under command of General Steele. No resistance was 
encountered, and the regiment landed at Selma on the 27th. 
Here our troops heard the glad tidings of peace. The regiment 




ST. GEORGE HOTEL. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 293 

went into camp in a beautiful grove near Selma, and passed two 
happy weeks. There was no anxiety respecting the next battle; 
no work on defences ; no guard duty ; no hard marches, or 
short rations to be endured. All spoke of home and the pros- 
pect of reaching that beloved spot. 

On the 12th of May the regiment embarked on a steamer 
and sailed to Mobile, where it landed and encamped in pine 
woods, remaining there three weeks. It then marched to Mo- 
bile and camped on Broad street, until the 1st of July, when it 
embarked for Texas. After'a'^disagreeable voyage of ten days, 
it landed at Galveston. Soon after its arrival, tbe members of 
the Sixty- seventh were mustered out and sailed for home. Col, 
Spicely having been mustered out with the Sixty-seventh, Cap- 
tain Pollard was commissioned Lieutenant - Colonel of the 
Twenty-fourth. 

The regiment arrived at Indianapolis on the 4th of August 
and was cordially welcomed by the citizens at a public recep- 
tion in the State House park. Appropriate addresses were 
delivered by Lieutenant- Governor Conrad Baker, General A. P. 
Hovey, and others, The returning officers and men made an 
aggregate of three hundred and ten. 

The battalion still remaining in the service was composed 
of the veterans of the Twenty-fourth, and such recruits for that 
and the Sixty-seventh regiment as were retained in the service 
because of the non-expiration of their term of enlistment. 



TWENTY-FIFTH REGIMENT. 

This regiment was organized at Evansville, on the 17th day 
of July, and mustered into service August 19th, under the fol- 
lowing officers : 

Field and Staff. — Colonel, James C. Veatch, Rockport ; 
Lieutenant-Colonel, William H. Morgan, Crawfordsville ; Ma- 
jor, John W. Foster, Evansville ; Adjutant, William H.Walker, 
Jr., Evansville ; Quartermaster, Alexander H. Foster, Evans- 
ville ; Chaplain, Frederick A, Heuring, Rockport; Surgeon, 
John T Walker, Evansville ; Assistant Surgeon, Arthur White, 
Rockport. 



294 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Company A. — Captain, George W. Saltzman, New Harmo- 
ny ; First Lieutenant, Enoch J. Randolph, Mount Vernon ; 
Second Lieutenant, Absalom Boren, New Harmony. 

Company B. — Captain, John Rheinlander, Evansville ; 
First Lieutenant, Alexander Darling, Evansville ; Second Lieu- 
tenant, Daniel W. Darling, Evansville. 

Company C. — Captain. Edwin C. Hastings, Evansville ; 
First Lieutenant, Alfred G. Quinlan, Evansville; Second Lieu- 
tenant, Henry L. Brickett, Evansville. 

Company D. — Captain, Charles S. Finch, Rockport; First 
Lieutenant, Lewis Hurst, Grandview ; Second Lieutenant, 
Albert Verhoeff, Grandview. 

Company E. — Captain, Charles Jones, Elizabeth ; First 
Lieutenant, James L. Wright, Rockport ; Second Lieutenant, 
William N. Walker, Rockport. 

Company F. — Captain, Victor C. Larkiu. Mount Vernon ; 
First Lieutenant, Robert G. Shannon, Mount Vernon ; Second 
Lieutenant, Miles Wilsey, Grayville, Illinois. 

Company O. — Captain, John W. Poole, Medora ; First 
Lieutenant, Jesse Patterson, Medora ; Second Lieutenant, 
Azrial W. Flinn, Medora. 

Company H. — Captain, John H. Darby, Newburg ; First 
Lieutenant, John R. Bell, Newburg ; Second Lieutenant, Chas. 
Lucas, Newburg. 

Company I. — Captain, Thomas F. Bethell, Newburg ; First 
Lieutenant, John R. Bell, Newburg ; Second Lieutenant, John 
T. Johnson, Newburg. 

Company K. — Captain, William F. Wood, Rockport ; First 
Lieutenant, Samuel Laird, Rockport ; Second Lieutenant, An- 
drew J. Enlow, Rockport. 

On the 26th of August the Twenty-fifth moved to St. Louis, 
Missouri, and went into camp where it remained, drilling and 
preparing for the field, until the 15th day of September. It 
then proceeded by rail to Jefferson City and thence to George- 
town. 

In October the regiment participated in the long and fati- 
guing march of Fremont's army, to Springfield and back to 
Otterville. It then marched to Syracuse, and thence back to 
Lamine river, where it remained till December, when it marched 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 295 

with Pope's division, south of Warrensburg, forming part of the 
auxiliary force that captured thirteen hundred rebels on the 
19th of December, on the Black Water. The regiment on the 
following day took charge of the prisoners and escorted them 
to St. Louis, where it remained until the second of February, 
1862, when it embarked on transports and proceeded to Cairo, 
Illinois, and thence up the Ohio and Tennessee rivers, to rein- 
force the army operating against Fort Donelson. Passing Fort 
Henry on the 11th, it reached Fort Donelson on the 12th, and 
participated in the attack on the fort the following day. 

The regiment was ordered to charge the enemy's center 
works. The order was most gallantly obeyed, but owing to the 
obstructions, they were compelled to halt. Several times they 
got to within one hundred and fifty yards of the works, and 
were subjected to a continuous fire from the enemy. They were 
ordered to lie down just in time to escape the ravages of a ter- 
rible shower of grape and canister, which came sweeping over 
from a rebel battery, at point blank range. They were com- 
pelled to remain in that position for about half an hour, when 
a detachment of sharp-shooters were thrown into a neck of 
woods to their right. They soon silenced the rebel guns, by 
picking off the gunners, which allowed the regiment to with- 
draw. They retreated in good order, every officer and man 
acting with the coolness of veterans, The loss of the regiment 
was sixteen killed and eighty wounded. 

On the 15th the regiment formed a part of the storming 
party that entered and held the outer works, sustaining a loss 
of four wounded. On the 16th it marched in and occupied the 
fort, and on the following day Company E took charge of Gen- 
eral Buckner and staff, escorting them to Indianapolis and re- 
joining the regiment on the 5th of March. 

The same day the regiment left Fort Donelson and marched 
to Fort Henry, where it embarked on transports, and moved 
down the river, disembarking at Pittsburg Landing, and going 
into camp on the 18th. 

On the 6th and 7th of April the regiment participated in 
in the battle of Shiloh, losing twenty-seven killed and one 
hundred and twenty-two wounded. The officers and men be- 
haved most gallantly ; and it is easy to suppose, from thenum- 



296 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ber of the losses, that the Twenty-fifth took an active part Id 
the hottest portion of the engagement. Although compelled to 
retreat, every inch of ground was hotly contested. Early in 
the engagement Lieutenant Colonel Morgan, commanding the 
regiment, was severely wounded, and the command devolved 
upon Major Carter, who performed his duties with great skill, 
coolness and bravery. 

Colonel James C. Veatch, the brigade commander, for his 
gallant conduct, was promoted brigadier general of volunteers, 
and Lieutenant Colonel W. H. Morgan was promoted colonel of 
the regiment. 

The regiment next joined in the pursuit of the rebels to 
Corinth, and took part in the siege of that place until it was 
evacuated, when it marched to and occupied Grand Junction 
on the 10th ol June. Thence it moved to Holly Springs, Mis- 
sissippi, and to Lavergne, where it remained until the 17th of 
July, when it marched to Memphis. 

It remained at Memphis, principally engaged in guerrilla 
hunting and scouting expeditions, until the 6th of September, 
when it marched to^Bolivar, where it remained until the 5th of 
October. 

General Hurlbut, commanding the division, received orders 
to intercept Price and Van Dorn on their retreat from Corinth. 
He immediately moved out with the command and met the 
rebels at Hatchie river, where a fierce, but short and decisive 
battle took place. 

The enemy having but two brigades and a battery across 
the river, our forces charged them, capturing four twelve pound 
brass guns, and driving their infantry in confusion across the 
stream. The division pursued them several miles, capturing a 
large number of small arms, camp and garrison equipage, and 
several prisoners. The loss of the regiment was three killed and 
seventy-six wounded. 

Returning to Bolivar, they marched into Northern Missis- 
sippi. During the campaign six companies were stationed at 
Davis' Mills, — a point at which the Mississippi Central railroad 
crosses Wolf river — and the remaining four companies were 
distributed along the line of the railroad to within six miles of 
Holly Springs, for the purpose of guarding communications. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 29? 

On the 21st of December, Colonel Morgan, in command at 
Davis' Mills, received a summons to surrender the command to 
the rebel General Van Dorn. The Colonel with characteristic 
firmnesSj refused to comply with the demand, and a brisk fight 
ensued. The enemy made three desperate charges upon the 
little garrison, and were as often repulsed, when they beat a 
hasty retreat, leaving twenty-three dead, and many wounded 
and prisoners behind. The regiment lost three slightly wounded. 

From Davis' Mills the regiment moved back to Memphis, 
arriving on the 14th day of January, 1863. It was employed 
on provost duty until November, when it moved again to Grand 
Junction, and guarded the railroad from that place to Moscow. 

On the 2d of January, 1864, the regiment pursuing Forrest 
to Cold Water, Mississippi, but failing to bring him to a stand, 
it returned to Grand Junction, where it remained a few days 
and then marched to Memphis, where it embarked and moved 
down the river, to join Sherman's army at Vicksburg. It par- 
ticipated with that army in the raid through the Mississippi, 
being engaged in a skirmish at Marion Station. 

On the return the regiment re-enlisted at Canton, Missis- 
sippi, on the 29th of February, 1864, and on returning to 
Vicksburg, proceeded thence to Indianapolis, where they ar- 
rived on the 21st of March. 

At the expiration of their veteran furloughs they assembled 
at Evansville, on the 24th of April, and proceeded to Decatur, 
Alabama. 

Colonel Morgan resigned on the 20th of May, leaving 
Lieutenant Colonel Kheinlander in command of the regiment. 

Eemaining at Decatur until the 4th of August, meantime 
participating in several skirmishes with Eoddy's rebel cavalry, 
the regiment moved by rail to Atlanta, joining the Fourth di- 
vision, Sixteenth army corps, in front of that city. It was ac- 
tively engaged in the siege of that place from the 8th until the 
26th, when the army was withdrawn from before Atlanta, and 
the Twenty-fifth was left on picket for the corps. 

On the 27th, Lieutenant Colonel Eheinlander, together 
with several of the old officers resigned. Captain James S. 
"Wright assumed command of the regiment. 

38 



298 JEvansville and its Men of Mark. 

On the 28th, the enemy pressing them close, they with- 
drew, and joined the army then on the march to Jonesboro'. 
The regiment lost, in front of Atlanta, three killed, six wound- 
ed, and four prisoners. Participating in the battle of Jones- 
boro', it lost two wounded. 

After the occupation of Atlanta, the regiment returned to 
East Point and went into camp. While there, Captain Wright 
obtained leave of absence, and returned to Indianapolis for the 
purpose of obtaining recruits and commissions for officers. 
t On the 3d of October the regiment broke camp and joined 
in the pursuit after Hood. While in the advance, on the 15th, 
they attacked the rebels at Snake Creek Gap, driving them 
from their works, with a loss to the regiment of nine killed and 
fourteen wounded. Moving on to Gaylesville, Alabama, where 
they halted, they were joined by Major Wright, who brought 
with him several commissions for line officers. From Gayles- 
ville they marched to Marietta, where they received four hun- 
dred recruits. 

Preparation!* were now commenced for " Sherman's March 
to the Sea." On the 12th of November they moved out and 
destroyed the railroad from Marietta to Kenesaw Mountain, 
marching towards Atlanta the next day. Leaving Atlanta on 
the 15th, and moving south — the weather being clear and beau- 
ful — their march was uninterrupted until the 8th of December t 
when they encountered a detachment of the enemy and had a 
slight skirmish, driving him before them. 

On the 9th they arrived in front of Savannah, and partici- 
pated in the investment of that city, until the 14th, sustaining 
a loss of nine wounded. 

The regiment then marched with the division and assisted 
in destroying the railroad from Altamaha to the Ogeechee river 
near Fort Mc Alister. 

Returning to Savannah on the 22d, they remained in camp 
until the 4th of January, 1865, when they removed with the 
Seventeenth corps, on transports, to Beaufort, South Carolina, 
and from thence to Pocotalico, where they arrived on the 13th 
of January. 

The march to Goldsboro', North Carolina, commenced on 
the 30th. During this march they were engaged as follows : 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 299 

Battle of Rivers' Bridge, on the 2d and 3d of February, 
with a loss of ten wounded and one captured ; skirmish at 
Binaka's Bridge, on the South Edisto river, on the 9th ; skir- 
mish at Fayetteville, North Carolina, killing five rebels, with 
no loss to the regiment ; battle of Bentonville on the 21st, with 
a loss of two killed, twelve wounded, and two missing. 

In this battle they lost the gallant Captain Robert G. Shan- 
nen of Company F. He served in the Mexican war. He was 
wounded at the battle of Chepultepec ; wounded at Hatchie 
river, October 5th, 1862 ; wounded at Snake Creek Gap, Octo- 
ber 16th, 1864 ; and at Bentonville, as above stated, from the 
effects of which he died on the 23d of March, 1865. After re- 
ceiving his wound at Snake Creek Gap, he went home, but re- 
joined the regiment at Pocatalico, hardly able for duty. When 
the regiment started on the march from that place, Colonel 
Wright tried to persuade him to remain behind ; but he would 
go with his company, despite the entreaties of his friends. He 
was an officer beloved and respected by all, and his death threw 
a shadow over the hearts of his men not soon to be removed. 

On the 24th of March the regiment arrived at Goldsboro' 
— having marched five hundred miles in fifty-four days. 

Marching thence to Raleigh, it remained there until the 
surrender of Johnson's army, and then started for Washington 
by way of Petersburg, Richmond and Fredericksburg. 

They arrived at Washington on the 17th of May, and re- 
mained there until the 5th of June, when they were transferred 
to Louisville, Kentucky. 

July 17th, twenty-six officers and four hundred and sixty 
men, comprising the regiment, were mustered out of the service. 
They proceeded to Indianapolis, where they arived on the 18th 
and were publicly received at the Capitol grounds on the 21st, 
and addressed by Lieutenant Governor Baker, General Hovey, 
and others. A few days afterwards they were finally dis- 
charged and paid off, when they separated and started for their 
various homes, to engage in the pursuits of civil life. 

During its term of service, the Twenty-fifth was engaged 
in eighteen battles and skirmishes, sustaining and aggregate loss 
of seventy-six killed, two hundred and fifty-five wounded, four 
missing, and seventeen captured ; making a total of three hun- 



300 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

dred and fifty-two. They marched on foot three thousand two 
hundred miles ; traveled by rail one thousand three hundred 
and fifty miles, and on transports, two thousand four hundred 
and thirty miles ; making, in all, six thousand nine hundred 
and eighty miles traveled. 

At the original organization it numbered one thousand and 
forty-six, officers and men, and received at subsequent times six 
hundred and eighty-six recruits. Of these three hundred and 
ninety-one died of disease or wounds ; six hundred and ninety- 
five were discharged on account of wounds, disabilities, and 
and other causes ; thirty-three were transferred to other regi- 
ments, and one hundred and thirty-three deserted. Of the 
thirty-eight officers — field and line — mustered with the regi- 
ment, but one remained until the regiment was mustered out. 

Colonel James S. Wright started out as Fist Lieutenant of 
Company E, and was promoted to Captain of Company H in 
1862. In 1864 he was promoted to Major, and again to Lieu- 
tenant Colonel in 1865. He was afterwards commissioned as 
Colonel ; but owing to the regiment being so much reduced, he 
could not be mustered. During his term of service he was ab- 
sent but twice ; once on business for the regiment, and once on 
a few days' leave. He endured every hardship and danger of 
the enlisted men, and participated in every engagement of the 
regiment, except that of Snake Creek Gap. He won the esteem 
of both officers and men, and the approbation of his friends and 
countrymen. — Moll of Honor. 



James P. DeBruler, M. D. 



O the faithful, skilled, and successful labors of Dr. De 
Bruler, too high a tribute can not be paid. Over 
sixteen years of service in his high capacities as a practitioner, 
in this city and as many more in the town of Rockport, have 
given to him a fame of which any man might justly feel proud. 
His chief characteristics have been, through all these years, 





JAMES P. DeBRULER, M. D. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 301 

a love of his profession and an enthusiastic devotion to his du- 
ties. Day and night he has responded to the calls of distress; 
and bringing to the sick bad the highest possible attainments of 
education and experience. Under his arduous labors his best 
friends have often feared that his own health might give way ; 
but owing to bis strict observance of sanitary laws and the ad- 
vantages of a strong constitution, he has been preserved for all 
the triumphs possible to be obtained in the highest walks of the 
medical profession. 

Dr. James P. DeBruler was born in Orange County, North 
Carolina, September 21st, 1817. While an infant his parents 
emigrated to this State, and settled on White River, in Pike 
County. This whole section was at that time almost a trackless 
forest with here and there a rude cabin to mark the beginnings 
of civilization. Thus surrounded, as he was, his early life was 
subjected to all the inconveniences and to all the hardships of a 
pioneer's child. Under the protection of the broad forest trees, 
his lullaby at night was not the piano or guitar ; but the growl 
of the bear, the howl of the wolf, or the hooting of the night- 
owl. But he enjoyed good digestion — had plenty to eat : hog 
and hominy, good milk, golden butter, etc. 

To him early training was well nigh impossible. But 
though it was irregular and imperfect, he made some progress 
by the aid of a quick mind, in the way of acquiring knowledge. 
His little neighborhood was fortunate enough to secure as a 
teacher,a Scotchman, named Graham.who was admirably adapted 
to his calling. Under his guidance, our subject made rapid ad- 
vances in his studies, and to this day he has often expressed his 
indebtedness to the tact of his old and early Scotch teacher. He 
could only attend school in the Fall and Winter, and was com- 
pelled to work on his father's farm in the Summer-time. 

At the age of eighteen years he began the study of medi- 
cine, and subsequently graduated in the Medical Department of 
the University at Louisville. He began his practical. work in 
his profession at Rockport, where he remained nearly twenty 
years; enjoying, perhaps, the largest practice that was ever 
confided lo any physician of this section. The result has proven 
that he entered upon a larger sphere of usefulness. What he 
was, as a citizen of Rockport, he has been, in a larger and fuller 



302 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

measure, to Evansville — a thorough gentleman of high honor, 
integrity, and public virtue. 

Dr. DeBruler has never been a politician, in any technical 
sense of the word ; his interest in such matters has been only 
that which every good citizen feels in the management of affairs. 
In 1856 he was honored with a nomination as candidate for the 
Legislature, and was defeated. He profited so far by the lesson 
as to believe that the germ of what might become a formidable 
disease — the love of political position — had been eradicated. 
He has never lost a day in politics since. He has never held an 
office other than those connected with his profession. He was 
appointed — without any solicitation on his part — Postmaster of 
this city, by President Johnson, but resigned ; having never 
taken charge of the office for an hour. He was appointed, by 
President Lincoln, Surgeon of the Marine Hospital in this city, 
and continued on duty there until it was changed into a mili- 
tary hospital, early in the war. He was its first surgeon, and 
acted in that capacity as long as there was any need of his ser- 
vices. Since that time his entire time and energies have been 
devoted to his large private practice. It is to him a labor of 
love : never neglecting his patients ; kind and considerate when 
called to consult with his professional brethren ; at home in the 
social circle, the laboratory, or by the sick bed — this city enjoys 
in Dr. DeBruler, an example of the value of a thoroughly 
educated, model American physician. 

Dr. DeBruler was married to Miss Sallie E. Graham, 
daughter of the late Judge J. W. Graham, of Rockport Indi- 
ana, on the 2d of September, 1847, Their 3on, Mr. Claude G. 
DeBruler, is an editor and part proprietor of the Evansville 
Daily Journal. 



Philip Heidelhach. 




jMONG the merchants of Cincinnati who have reached 
out the hand of enterprise to aid our city, is the sub- 
ject of this sketch. He was prominent among those who laid 
the foundations of the commercial importance of Cincinnati, 
after the early settlers had given place to others, and worked 
out, the grand results that have been achieved ; and for more 
than thirty years of the well-known firm of Heidelbach, Sea- 
songood & Co. The following is taken from his biography, in 
" Cincinnati, Past and Present " : 

" He is the son of David and Heffe Heidelbach, of Pfarr- 
weisach, Bavaria, where he was born June 25, 1814. His parents 
being poor, instead-of obtaining an education at school, during 
boyhood, he was obliged to early inure himself to toil and ob- 
tain what practical lessons he could by contact with the world ; 
and the sequel proves him to have been a very apt scholar in 
that broad school. At the age of thirteen he was apprenticed 
to a butcher for two years. And after the expiration of that 
term he worked as a journeyman until he was of age, receiving 
about one hundred and fifty dollars per year, out of which he 
gave considerable toward the support of his parents, besides 
providing himself with clothing and paying other incidental 
expenses ; and although his knowledge of figures was extremely 
limited, he needed no mathematician to inform him that it 
would take a long time to become rich at that ratio. In the face 
of difficulties, he had managed to save sufficient to purchase a 
ticket to America, and he was not long in deciding to invest it 
in that way. 

He landed in New York City without any means whatever ; 
but he soon found a friend who procured credit for him for 



304 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

eight dollars' worth of small goods with which to commence 
business as a peripatetic merchant. And although at first en- 
tirely ignorant of the English language, he succeeded so well at 
the end of three months, he had, from eight dollars worse than 
nothing, acquired, clear of all expenses, a capital of one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars. This was encouraging, and he began to 
think there was some propriety in calling this the " land of 
promise." He transmitted one-third of his cash to his parents, 
and investing the balance in goods he started for the great west- 
ern country, where he had an idea that a more profitable busi- 
ness could be done. Throughout the whole journey he made 
sales by day and generally stopped at farm houses at night ; 
and, as the universal charge for supper, bed and breakfast was 
a "quarter," it may be surmised that our peddler made a profit- 
able overland trip. He arrived at Cincinnaati in the Spring of 
1837 ; which contained, according to his own estimate, about 
forty thousand inhabitants, although many more were claimed 
for it. He commenced business so earnestly, and continued it 
so faithfully, within a radius of a hundred miles, embracing the 
adjoining counties of Union and Liberty, Indiana, that he con- 
stantly increased his stock ; and by the Fall of that year he 
had accumulated a handsome little capital of near two thousand 
dollars. It was about this time that he formed the acquaint- 
ance of another shrewd and industrious young man, who was 
engaged in the same business, and who possessed about the 
same amount of means : it was Jacob Seasongood. The two 
united their capital, enlarged their stock and increased their 
facilities, and from that time until December, 1839, did a very 
large and profitable business. 

On the 1st of January, 1840, Mr. Heidelbach was married 
to Miss Hannah Lewser, with whom he had been acquainted in 
the Old Country. This estimable lady has proved a true help- 
meet all through his busy life. 

Having considerable means at their command, and being 
somewhat weary of the laborious and unsettled life which ped- 
dling involved, they were disposed to purchase a stock of goods 
and endeavor to build up a city trade. They secured a busi- 
ness place on the corner of Front and Sycamore streets, and 
shortly after opened a retail clothing store. Here fortune fa- 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 305 

vored them to such an extent that at the end of two years they 
were able to open a dry-goods store on Main, one door below 
Pearl street, in addition to their old establishment. Mr. Hei- 
delbach's two brothers, Max and Simon, were admitted as part- 
ners about this time ; which enabled the firm to conduct the 
business with a limited number of hired clerks. Mr. Simon 
Heidlebach died of cholera in 1849 ; and the surviving partners 
continued as usual until they removed all their business to a 
commodious building on Pearl street, where they remained until 
they established their house on the corner of Main and Third 
streets, doing an extensive business until 1860, when they erected 
the elegant and substantial block on the southwest corner of 
Vine and Third streets. Success still attended this energetic 
firm until 1868, when it was dissolved by mutual consent. 
From 1862 until the dissolution Mr. Heidelbach had been en- 
gaged in banking in company with Messrs. Seasongood, Espy, 
Max Heidelbach, and his son Louis, and has continued that in- 
terest until the present time, while Mr. Seasongood carries for- 
ward the original branch ; each party having demonstrated since 
the dissolution that all the elements of success unite in him. 

Mr. Heidelbach has had six children, two of whom died in 
infancy. Henrietta is the wife of Mr. Simon Rindscopf, of New 
York City ; Louis is engaged in banking in company with his 
father, and is still unmarried ; Jennie, the late wife of Mr. 
Isaac Ickleheimer, of New York, died during the Summer of 
1871, aged twenty-two ; Ida is still at the parental home. Mrs. 
Heidelbach is living in comparative health 

It will be observed that Mr. Heidelbach is an exception to 
the rule that first calls for disappointment and vexation on the 
part of almost all foreigners who come to our shores, because 
they do not know how to obviate it, being ignorant of the man- 
ners and customs of the people. He was successful from the 
start ; and it can not fail to be interesting to all ambitious 
young men to know what he regards as the key to his success. 
In the first place, he bestowed unremitting attention to his bus- 
iness ; secondly, he would never incur an expense he was not 
certain he could defray without embarrassment ; thirdly, he 
practiced strict economy and straightforward dealing ; these, 
with a little common sense mixed with energy, he thinks will 

39 



306 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

insure a moderate success to almost any one. And we may add 
that eminent practicability, more than depth of acquirement, 
has contributed to his success. 

Apart from his business, Mr. Heidelbach is all that could 
be asked of a husband, parent, or citizen, and enters with sym- 
pathy, into every really philanthropic movement. He has 
never tried to " mak a noise in the world," but is simple and 
unobtrusive in his manner ; and while his will is strong, it is 
mild in expression. Those who have done business with him 
for nearly forty years speak of his integrity as of the most un- 
compromising kind, and aver that no one can frequently come 
in contact with him without respecting him for his manly vir- 
tues. He is remarkably well preserved, and able to transact a 
large amount of fatiguing business." 

His addition to this city has made his name familiar to our 
citizens. 



Jacob Elsas. 



oB^ftii HIS successful Israelite is the son of Isaac i3nd Rosa 
5^'?^ij^ Elsas, who lived at a small village in the kingdom of 
Wuertenberg, near Stuttgart. Elsas was the name of the prov- 
ince in France that he had moved from, and was taken by him 
when the number of scriptural names among his people had 
become so numerous that the Government ordered the adoption 
of other family names. Jacob was born February 15, 1815 ; his 
parents were poor, and the schools in Germany were very infe- 
rior, the short time devoted to educational purposes resulted in 
a little practical benefit. He was the fourth child in a family 
of nine, who became fatherless when he was eleven years of age, 
and was then hired to a cattle dealer, at eighty cents per week, 
for which miserable pittance he was obliged to drive cattle 
half the night. It was, however, promptly given to his mother 
toward the support of the family, and when not kept at work 
too late, he would sometimes walk several miles after dark in 
order to buy bread for the family at a trifle cheaper rate than 



Evansville 'and its Men of Mark. 307 

was practicable in their immediate neighborhood. He would 
perform these journeys merely by the force of his will, being 
all the time in the greatest fear of ghosts and hobgoblins and 
and other superstitions, in the stories of which the country 
abounded. We have been furnished with a running history of 
our subject, commencing about two years subsequent to the 
death of his father and ending several years after his arrival in 
this country. We quote as follows : 

" When thirteen he was employed in making bobbin for an 
elder brother who was a weaver, and four of the family being 
employed in this way, they were able, in about two years, 
to open a little store for the sale of their goods, as well as to 
attend the markets at the different towns within a radius of fif- 
teen or twenty miles, it being the duty of Jacob to carry the 
pack. At the age of eighteen he and his brother engaged in 
the cattle business and continued in that until he was twenty, 
when he was fortunate enough to draw a ticket to be a soldier, 
but was more fortunate to be exempted, through the kind offices 
of the family physician. The savings of his nine years' labor, 
with the strictest economy, were about one hundred and fifty 
florins, or sixty dollars ; and with this he determined to go to 
America in companv with twelve or fifteen other young men 
from his neighborhood. The party started for Havre, via Stras- 
burg and Paris ; but unfortunately for our subject, they delayed 
on the road for several weeks, and after being delayed in the 
harbor a number of days, he was refused a passage because he 
was unable to supply himself with sufficient crackers, potatoes 
and other provisions for the voyage. In this extremity he was 
obliged to part with his watch ; but a stormy voyage of seven 
weeks fully justified the ship-owners in their exactions, for with 
all their precautions they were placed on very short rations be- 
fore reaching New York. On landing in that city, in the rail 
of 1839, he only had two francs, or about forty cents in our 
money ; and as he was anxious to proceed to Philadelphia 
where he expected to find friends, he was compelled, much 
against his will, to part with a gold ring given him by his moth- 
er on leaving home. His friends in Philadelphia directed him 
to a Mr. Jacob Steiner, who frequently supplied new-comers 
with goods to peddle through the city and adjoining country. 



308 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

But having found the establishment, he was so excessively dim. 
dent that he could not go in and ask for credit, and so took up 
a position outside on the steps. He was, however, invited in by 
the proprietor after a time, who questioned him as to his wants 
or wishes ; and after due consideration of his case, advised him 
to take a box of jewelry and peddle in the city. Suffice it to 
say that he was industrious, and in a short time was able to 
send his parents the first ten dollar bill that he earned in 
America. 

After some two months of fair success, he was advised by 
his benefactor to take a large bundle of goods and travel in the 
interior of the State, and was accordingly loaded down with 
over a hundred pounds of goods. After being out some time, 
he found himself at Woodcock Valley, and was recommended 
to go to Morrisoi/s Cove, some five miles distant, through the 
woods. He had proceeded but a short way, when he was over- 
taken by darkness and soon lost the path. After vainly trying 
to find his way out, he finally sat down under a tree with the 
pack upon his back, fully expecting to remain in the woods 
all night. He thought of home and mother and brothers and 
sisters, and felt indescribably lonesome as he then, for the first 
time since leaving them, shed tears. But his reverie was sud- 
denly disturbed by the solemn march, close by him, of an im- 
mense number of turkeys, the first wild birds of that species he 
had ever seen, which only served to increase his melancholy, as 
they almost seemed to be marching to his funeral. Shortly 
after this he groped about till he discovered a light not far dis- 
tant, which proved to proceed from the cabin of a negro woman, 
who kindly gave him the best the house afforded — potatoes ; and 
for ten cents carried his pack to the bridge at the foot of the 
hill, near which he obtained lodgings for the night, although he 
was required to leave his pack down stairs, for fear he might 
have burglar's tools in it. He rambled through Pennsylvania 
and Ohio during the winter, and sold out his goods, and, on re- 
turning to Philadelphia to pay for them, discovered, to his mor- 
tification and loss, that owing to the heavy exchange between 
Ohio and Eastern money, he had been laboring for nothing, 
Mr. Steiner, however, finally paid one- half, and he was thus left 
with a little ready money. Having returned and made an hon- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 309 

orable settlement, his credit was good for another stock of goods 
and a horse to ride ; so he sent twenty dollars to his parent and 
then made a trading expedition through Ohio, Kentucky, and 
Virginia, that occupied about two years, during which time he 
was impressed with the fact that the Kentuokians were far more 
hospitable than the citizens of the other States through which 
he had traveled." 

He returned to Philadelphia, paid his creditors, and found 
himself with the handsome capital of six hundred dollars, which 
he invested in dry goods and clothing at Cincinnati, and opened 
a store at Portsmouth, Ohio. This whs in 1842 ; and so suc- 
cessful was he that in 4844 he did the most extensive business 
in the town. 

In 1845 Mr. Elsas was married to Miss Jeannette Fechhei- 
mer, of Cincinnati, a lady every way worthy of him, who has 
largely contributed to his success by her hearty co-operation 
and prudent counsels. At this time Mr. Elsas had a capital of 
some six thousand dollars and commenced doing a jobbing busi- 
ness, obtaining goods at the best markets East. In the follow- 
ing year he purchased his first house at sheriff's sale, for five 
hundred and fifty dollars, and for the first time in his life im- 
agined he was rich. In 1847 the brother of Mrs. Elsas was 
drowned in the Scioto river ; and being unwilling to reside 
there after the melancholy event, they removed to Cincinnati, 
and commencenced the wholesale boot and shoe business on 
Walnut street, near Pearl, which was about the first business 
house west of Main street. After two years he formed a part- 
nership with Mechheimer and Goldsmith, and added a clothing 
department to their house. This arrangement was continued 
only one year, having lost heavily by the California excitement. 
During this year he erected his first house in Cincinnati, on 
Main street, near Lower Market; where he remained one year, 
and then removed to 18 Pearl street, between Main and Wal- ' 
nut, where he carried on the wholesale clothing business until 
1854, when he rented a store in Neff's block, one square west. 
During this year he built a beautilul residence on Walnut Hills, 
and laid out some of the handsomest grounds in this vicinity. 
He resided at that place for about ten years, owing to the deli- 
cate state of his wife's health. He removed his business from 



310 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Neff's block, on the completion of two stores which he erected 
on Pearl street, between Vine and Race, where he was very suc- 
cessful until 1863, when he discontinued his store business and 
put all his available means into buildings. He erected two sub- 
stantial blocks on the northeast corner of Race and Pearl streets 
and also the magnificent Phoenix block on Walnut street, and 
and his elegant residence on Fourth street, near John. 

In 1864 he made a trip to Europe, with his eldest daugh- 
ter, to see his motner, then in her seventy-fourth year, after an 
absence from home of twenty-five years. This venerable parent 
died in 1870. In 1865 he built three stores on Race street, be- 
tween Third and Fourth, also one on the corner of John and 
Fourth. In 1866 he erected five stores on Pearl street, between 
Race and Elm, and started a large tannery on Hunt street, 
where business is conducted under the firm of Elsas & Pritz. 
He purchased the old lunatic asylum at Fairmount and started 
a woolen mill that he disposed of to his nephews, Adler & Co., 
which is now producing one thousand yards of jeans a day. 
The Clifton Brewery, erected in 1867, has proved the most dis- 
astrous enterprise in which he ever engaged, but happily it oc- 
curred when he was able to sustain the shock without serious 
inconvenience. During the same year he built nine dwelling 
houses on the east side of Vine street, north of Mulberry. In 
1869, in company with Mr. Philip Heidelbach, he purchased 
one hundred and sixty acres of land in Evansville, Indiana, and 
laid out fourteen hundred lots, two hundred of which have been 
sold. It is doubtless a good investment. 

Mr. Elsas has always been an ardent advocate of public 
improvements, and believes in encouraging manufactures of all 
kinds. He has performed many acts of kindness to deserving 
men of business, and sometimes to those not deserving, to his 
own hurt. He is frank and sincere in all his transactions, and 
and has earned the confidence of his fellow-citizens oy a careful 
and honorable conduct of business for twenty-five years. His 
success has been very remarkable, and he has manifested a pub- 
lic spirit and a confidence in Cincinnati and also in Evansville > 
that are worthy of emulation by hosts of our wealthy men, by 
constantly investing his means in blocks of buildings that will 
be monuments to his memory and a credit to the city. He is 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 311 

hale and hearty at the age of fifty-four, and able to sustain a 
vast amount of mental labor. We trust his career, that confers 
so much benefit to the public while it enriches himself will be 
prolonged for many years. 

Aside from his business in Cincinnati, Mr. Elsas has been 
for many years a large property owner in Evansville, as partner 
with Mr. H. in Heidelbach & Elsas' Enlargement. He has 
twice been President of the Jewish Hospital, and a trustee of 
the same for about twenty years. He also has, in connection 
with Mr. Heidelbach, laid out the Jewish Cemetery, on the 
Montgomery Pike ; was an active member of the building com- 
mittee during the erection of the temple on Plum street, and 
has been a member of that congregation since his residence in 
the city. He has always avoided politics and politicians, but 
was induced to accept the appointment of a park commissioner- 
ship, which he filled for two years, and has been reappointed 
for a second term. This not being a lucrative office, he can 
hold it without hurt to his feelings. His benevolence and patri- 
otism were manifested on the breaking out of the war by sup- 
plying fourteen substitutes, though he was over age ; and at the 
close of the war he erected a beautiful monument in the Jewish 
Cemetery to the memory of those who had fallen in battle. He 
is characterized by a large-hearted benevolence whenever a de- 
serving object presents itself. 

Twelve children have been born to him, nine of whom are 
still living . Cecilia is the wile of Samuel Pritz ; Mary is the 
wife of Henry Eisfelder ; Clara is the wife of G-abriel Netter ; 
the next in order being Nettie, Eda, twin boys Louis and Max, 
Cora and Samuel. Mrs, Elsas is now in excellent health. — 
Cincinnati, Past and Present. 




Stephen S. L'Hommedieu. 

LTHOUGH forty years have not elapsed since the first 
•mg; railroad was put into operation, but few cities are now 
without that important handmaid of commerce. And the fact 
has been demonstrated that the cities which inaugurate most 
liberal policy, and exhibit the keenest appreciation of railroad 
centers and radiations, speedily outstrip less enterprising rivals. 
It is useless to speak of what Cincinnati would have been to- 
day without railroads. Suffice it to say that she has assumed 
large proportions, accumulated great wealth, and is second to 
few American cities in all that which combines to make it desir- 
able for education, business or pleasure ; and railroads have 
largely contributed to this end. To represent this great inter- 
est we have selected Stephen S. L'Hommedieu, the builder of 
the road and for more than twenty years the President of the 
Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Railroad Company. 

Mr. L'Hommedieu was born in Sag Harbor, Long Island, 
New York, January 5, 1306, and is a lineal descendant of a 
Huguenot who fled to this country from France after the siege 
of Rochelle. 

In the Summer of the year 1810, Captain Charles L'Hom- 
medieu, father of the subject of this sketch, removed to Cincin- 
nati and established himself there as a merchant and manufac- 
turer. In 1813 he died, leaving five children. Previous to his 
death he purchased the land now bounded by Central avenue, 
Mound, George and Seventh streets, for pasturage and other 
purposes ; then somewhat remote from the village, but now 
about the center of a great city. The property was kept intact 
and divided equally among the five children in 1828. 

S, S. L'Hommedieu, at the age of twelve, was put into a 
store with his uncle, John C. Avery ; and in 1821, when fifteen 
years of age, was placed in the office of the Liberty Hall and 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 313 

Cincinnati Gazette, owned and conducted by Ephraim Morgan, 
James Lodge and Isaac G. Burnet, to learn the printing busi- 
ness. A few weeks after coming of age he was taken as a 
partner in the Gazette. At that period it was feared the paper, 
then a semi-weekly, would be deprived of its chief support, 
post-office and other government patronage, by the election of 
General Andrew Jackson to the Presidency of the United States. 
On consultation with its then able editor, Charles Hammond, it 
was determined to make the Gazette in every respect an inde- 
pendent paper — not, however, what is now understood as a 
neutral in politics — believing that that course would bring a 
better reward than all the patronage the Government had to 
bestow. The result showed the wisdom of taking such an inde- 
pendent position. 

In 1827 the firm of Morgan, Fisher and L'Hommedieu 
issued the Gazette as a daily paper, commencing with only one 
hundred and twenty-five subscribers, but few of whom are now 
living. It was the first daily paper published west of the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, or in the valley of the Mississippi, with the 
exception of a small sheet, issued for a few weeks, the year pre- 
vious, in Cincinnati, by S. S. Brooks, The reputation of the 
Gazette from 1827 to 1840 under the principal editorial man- 
agement of Charles Hammond, is well known to the country. 
Mr. L'Hommedieu closed his connection with the Gazette in 
the year 1848, having been in its service twenty-seven years. 
During that period it has grown in public favor and influence, 
and all those connected with it had prospered in a pecuniary 
point of view. He was the more willing to retire from a con- 
nection with it as his early associates, Charles Hammond, James 
Lodge and Richard F. L'Hommedieu had been taken to their 
graves honored and lamented. 

On retiring from the Gazette it was Mr. L'Hommedieu's 
intention to devote himself to horticultural pursuits, and espe- 
cially to the cultivation of the grape, on his place near Cincin- 
nati, where he still resides, but his friends soon persuaded him 
that that mode of life was neither active nor useful enough for 
one of his temperament. Fully appreciating that he had grown 
with the city, and been liberally sustained by her citizens, he 
was ready, on the call of friends, to undertake that which he 
40 



314 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

believed would be a public benefit. Within a few weeks from 
the time be retired from active business, be was elected 
President of the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Davton Railroad 
Company and found bimself again witb full employment. Tbe 
company bad been chartered in 1846 witb only a capital of five 
hundred thousand dollars. At a meeting of directors in Janu- 
ary, 18-17, Lewis D. Campbell, of Hamilton, was chosen as tbe 
first President. Under his administration but little had been 
accomplished, as other official duties prevented his giving that 
attention which so important an undertaking required, Mr. 
L'Hommedieu was elected to succeed him at the annual meeting ) 
July 3, 1848. Contracts for tbe construction of fourteen miles 
of road, from Hamilton south, had been made two months pre- 
viously ; but after thoroughly examining into the condition of 
the company, its limited amount of stock subscribed — $33,000 
— its liabilities of more than double that amount already incur- 
red, as well as the limited number of rights of way obtained ) 
tbe President reported it to be expedient to suspend the work 
until the rights of way had been obtained, and the means requi- 
site to build the road secured ; the directors, as individuals, 
advancing money to pay for work already done. More than a 
year was devoted to obtaining rights of way, and not until the 
Fall of 1849 did the President make personal application to our 
citizens for the means witb which to build the road. Such was 
the confidence gained by him in the value of the enterprise and 
its management, that in the course of three weeks the President 
succeeded in raising, mostly in subscriptions of five thousand 
dollars and upward, about three-fourths of a million of dollars 
in Cincinnati, and equal to about one-third of that amount in 
the city of New York. The subscriptions were made, with but 
few exceptions, by the mechanics, manufacturers and merchants. 

In March, 1850, the work on the road was resumed, but 
was soon interrupted by injunctions granted to individuals 
claiming more than had been awarded them for rights of way ; 
and soon after these difficulties were overcome the cholera made 
its appearance among the laborers, so that the work was not 
fully in progress of construction until September, 1850. 

This important public improvement was commenced and 
successfully carried through by individual enterprise and the 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 315 

public spirit of our citizens, aided by friends in New York. No 
city, county, or State aid was asked tor or received. In one 
year from the time the contractors were enabled to get to work 
the road was so far completed that an excursion trip through to 
Dayton was made with three trains, carrying, on invitation, 
about three thousand persons, under the immediate direction of 
E. M. Shoemaker, superintendent and civil engineer in the con. 
struction of the road, and Daniel M'Laren, master mechanic. 
The road was regularly opened for business on the 22d of Sep- 
tember, 1851. Its first year's earnings amounted to a little over 
$300,000. Those of the present amount to about a million and 
a quarter per annum. 

The site of the depots was much criticised in 1851, and 
they were said to be too far from the business of the city. At 
this time the city and its business extends miles beyond, and 
before many years the depots will be considered quite centrally 
situated. The large amount of land secured by the managers 
of the road for depot purposes and machine shops in the west- 
ern portion of the city was also much commented upon at the 
time, but the subsequent business of the road has demonstrated 
the wisdom of the policy pursued in securing the necessary 
ground. 

The Dayton and Michigan road, extending from Dayton to 
Toledo, one hundred and forty-two miles, was leased perpetu- 
ally by the Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton Company in 1863. 
The Cincinnati, Hamilton and Dayton has also the controlling 
interest in the Cincinnati, Eichmond and Chicago road, extend- 
ing from Hamilton to Eichmond, and the number of miles now 
rated by the company is two hundred and forty-seven. Mr # 
L'Hommedieu having been President of the company for twenty- 
two years, embracing the whole of its practical history, it may 
readily be seen why we should give a running history of it. He 
resigned his position as President on the 4th of July last, and 
in a few days thereafter sailed for Europe, and at this writing 
has not returned. We hear of him, however from up the Nile 
and as far east as Damascus. 

Since Mr. L'H. retired from the career of an editor and 
publisher of a paper, he has never meddled with politics, nor 
sought for political position, but has steadfastly stood by the 



316 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

old Flag. Indeed, had he desired political preferment his con- 
nection with the old Whig party would probably have stood in 
his way. His last appearance on the political stage was at 
Philadelphia, as the delegate from the First District of Ohio, to 
the National Convention of Whigs, on the 7th of June, 1847, at 
which time his favorite, Henry Clay, was slaughtered by the 
politicians, and General Zachary Taylor nominated for the 
Presidency. His ambition since has been to contribute his time 
and talents to the building up of our goodly city, especially that 
portion of it which in early times seemed to have no advocates 
— west of Main street. Through the management and influence 
of wealthy citizens in the eastern portion of the city the Miami 
Canal was mislocated, carried down Deer Creek Valley, when 
it should have been located west of Freeman street. The first 
railroad, by the same management, was located in the Little, 
when it should have been in the Great Miami Valley. The city 
council, controlled, in a great degree, by the same influence 
about thirty-three years ago, was not willing, in his judgment 
to do justice to the western portion of the city. He was a 
member of the council at the time referred to, and fought hard 
against such neglect, if not injustice, but without much effect. 
This prompted him, to seek other ways for building the city 
westward, although at the time his. most valuable property was 
on Main street. Those who have lived here for a quarter of a 
century know how effective bis efforts in this direction have 
been. 

Mr. L'Hommedieu's life has been truly one of activity and 
usefulness. The period during which he has achieved his great- 
est success has been marked with unparalleled progress. The 
changes which have taken place within his memory are wonder- 
ful to contemplate. He sometimes facetiously remarks that he 
must be over an hundred years old, because for twenty-seven 
years he was connected with the publishing of a newspaper ; 
twenty-two years president of a railroad ; for forty-one years 
the husband of one wife, and for eleven years was employed in 
other matters, making a total of one hundred and one years. 
But seriously, he remembers seeing Kentucky troops pass 
through our city, on their way to repel the British and their 
Indian allies ; was on board the first steamboat built and run on 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 317 

western waters on her first trip ; brought to the West, across 
the mountains, the first Adams, and the first steam printing 
press ; rode on the first mile of railroad on the Atlantic coast, 
before the introduction of locomotives, and has passed over the 
last mile of the line on the shore of the Pacific ; and in the 
meantime has contributed to the building up of a village from 
a few hundred inhabitants to a city of over a quarter of a mil- 
lion. He has been, as these facts abundantly attest, an enter- 
prising man in an age of enterprise. Uniting great physical 
endurance with mental activity — a sound mind in a sound body 
— he has labored with great zeal, industry, intelligence and un- 
wearied activity in the many enterprises of an active and useful 
life. 

He has not neglected the duties which instinctively impel 
the head of an household to provide for the comfort and inde- 
pendence of his family, But it can be truly said of him that 
he has never suffered private considerations to outweigh his 
duty to the public ; that one of the main motives of his activity 
has been to advance the prosperity of the community in which 
he has lived for so many years ; and it is one of the most con- 
tinually present sources of his gratification that he has not 
striven for himself alone. — Cincinnati, Past and Present. 

His connection with the railroad enterprises of Southern. 
Indiana has made him closely identified with its interests. 
What he may do for Evansville in the future, time alone can 
tell ; as for the past. Evansville, has had no warmer friend than 
the subject of this sketch. 



Horace Plumer. 



5 AS born in Newbury, Essex County, Massachusetts, 
on the 26th of April, 1821. He was the youngest 
son of a family of eight children. His father, Enoch Plumer, 
was a thriving farmer, and his mother died before he was two 
years of age. 




318 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

He received his earliest education at the village school in 
his native town ; and as he, at an early age. showed a fondness 
for study, his father determined to give him a college education. 
He commenced fitting for college at Dumer Academy ; then 
went to Atkinson, New Hampshire, where he remained until 
prepared to enter Dartmouth College in 1836. He graduated 
in July, 1840, with the highest honors of his class, being next 
to the youngest member. 

He studied law in Newburyport, Massachusetts, in the office 
of Edward LeBritton. After having passed a satisfactory ex- 
amination, he was admitted to the bar in his native State. In 
1844 he married N. D. Woodwell of Newburyport. He then 
removed to Tennessee, where he engaged in teaching an Acad- 
emy and acquainting himself with the laws of that State. Hav- 
ing passed an examination, he was admitted to the practice of 
the legal profession. 

As the climate of Tennessee did not agree with his health 
and as he preferred residing in a free State, he removed to Ev- 
ansville on the 2d of January, 1848. From that time he united 
his interests with those of this city. He was admitted to the 
bar in this place in March following his arrival. Up to the 
time of his death in January, 1860, he took a lively interest in 
the cause of education. He suffered much with a disease of the 
throat, which terminated his life. He left a widow, two daugh- 
ters, and an infant son. 



David Dale Owen, M. D., 



'AS born at Braxfield House, near New Lanark, Scot- 
land, on the 24th of June, 1807. He was the third 
son, who lived to manhood, of Robert Owen, the Philanthropist. 
Dr. Owen was educated during 1824, '25 and '26, at Hof- 
wyl, near Berne, Switzerland. He also took a course in Chem- 
istry, with Dr. Andrew Ure, of Glasgow, Scotland, then at the 



Svansville and its Men of Mark. 319 

University of London. He received his diploma as M, D. from 
the Cincinnati Medical College, in the times of Drs. Locke ) 
Eberle and associates. 

He was engaged, nearly all his life as Geologist, devoting 
his Winters to chemical analyses connected with the geological 
surveys. He was the first State Geologist of Indiana ; then, in 
1830, United States Geologist for Iowa ; and afterward, from 
1848 to '50, for Minnesota and the remaining Northwestern 
Territory. The results were published in a large quarto vol- 
ume, beside plates and maps. Afterward he was, for many 
years, State Geologist of Kentucky ; his labors for that State 
being embodied in four volumes, large octavo. Subsequently, 
as State Geologist of Arkansas, he published two octavo vol- 
umes. 

He married the third daughter of Joseph Neef, an associate 
of Pestalozzi. They had two sons and two daughters, all of 
whom are living. One son was Colonel of the Eightieth Indi- 
ana Volunteers. Dr. D. D. Owen died on the 13th of Novem- 
ber, 1860. 

It was said of Dr. Owen that his ability as a geologist was 
only equaled t>y his modesty as a man. The labors he per- 
formed have been ol invaluable benefit to the several States in 
which he labored, and the volumes edited by him as a practical 
geologist and chemist, have made the name of Dr. David Dale 
Owen famous in the scientific circles of Europe as well as 
America. 



Prof. Richard Owen. 




AS born at Braxfield House, near New Lanark, Scot- 
land, on the 6th of January. 1810. He was the 
fourth son who lived to manhood, of Eobert Owen, the Philan- 
thropist. 

After early training in Scotland, he remained three years 
at the celebrated educational institution of Mt. Fellenberg, at 
Hofwyl, Switzerland, and pursued Chemistry an additional year 
under Dr. Andrew Ure, author of the Chemical Diet. 



320 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

On reacting this country, he spent a Summer in Pennsyl- 
vania, studying their system of farming ; took a course of En- 
gineering in Kentucky at the West. Military Institute, of which 
he was afterward Professor; pursued, however, first after return- 
ing from the Mexican War, geological and chemical studies in 
the laboratory of his brother, Dr. D. D. Owen, and gained ex- 
perience in field work as assistant in his United States Geolog- 
ical Corps on Lake Superior. 

After three years' study — from 1833-35 inclusive — of the 
art of malting and brewing, he took charge, for seven years, of 
a steam mill, in connection with stock-raising ; finally sold out 
the mill and devoted himself exclusively to farming until April 
1847, when he became Captain in one of the ten new regiments 
raised for the Mexican War, remaining fifteen months in the 
Sixteenth Infantry, Colonel Tibbatt's command, chiefly under 
Generals Taylor and Wool. 

On returning from the New York survey he was elected 
Professor of Geology and Chemistry in the Western Military 
Institute, [and remained with it nine years and a half. The 
last three years they formed the Literary Department of the 
University of Nashville ; and General B. R. Johnson was Su- 
perintendent, while our subject was commandant of the corps m 
While there Mr. Owen published a geological work entitled 
" Key to the Geology of the Globe." 

Returning in the Autumn of 1858 to Indiana, he became 
assistant and afterward State Geologist of Indiana, and pub- 
lished his report in one octavo volume. 

In April, 1861, he entered the Fifteenth Indiana Volun- 
teers as Lieutenant-Colonel ; and after the battle of Greenbrier, 
Virginia, was promoted to the Colonelcy of the Sixtieth Indi- 
ana With them he guarded prisoners at Camp Morton ; was 
in Kentucky with Colonel Dumont ; at the first, siege of Vicks- 
burg, with General Sherman, and at the taking of Arkansas 
Post. He was with General Grant at the taking of Vicksburg; 
with .General Sherman when he took Jackson, Mississippi, and 
afterward commanded a brigade under General A. J. Smith, in 
Banks' Red River campaign. At the close of this he was in- 
vited, in the Autumn of 1863, to fill the Chair of Natural Sci- 
ences in the Indiana State University, where he has remained 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 321 

until the present time. In 1872 our subject was elected Presi- 
dent of the Purdue University, the State Agricultural College, 
located at Lafayette, Indiana, and expects to enter on his duties 
in April, 1874. In 1872 Wabash College voluntarily conferred 
on Mr. Owen the degree of L.L.D. 

In 1837 he married the fourth daughter of Joseph Neif, 
the associate of Pestalozzi. Their two sons were with our sub- 
ject in the army ; being successively Adjutant of the Sixtieth 
Indiana. Their only daughter died when about eight years old, 

Having revisited Europe in 1869, and extended his travels 
to Turkey, Egypt and Palestine, he has, at various times, lec- 
tured on those countries, and has contributed many articles on 
these and educational topics for the New Albany Ledger, Ev- 
ansville Journal and Indianapolis Journal, and during his jour- 
ney, for the New York Ttibune. 

The following is from "Indiana's Boll of Honor": 

" At the breaking out of the war, Colonel Owen was 
elected Captain of a cavalry company, which his nephew, after- 
wards Major of the Fourteenth Indiana Cavalry, had raised in 
his own town, and which formed a part of that regiment. But 
as Governor Morton offered him a Lieutenant-Colonelcy in the 
Ffteenth Indiana Volunteers, Colonel Owen left the cavalry, and 
served with his infantry regiment in Western Virginia. While 
there, besides having command frequently of outposts, several 
miles from camp, and making reconnoissances, constructing re- 
doubts, etc., he was ordered to advance with three hundred 
men to meet the enemy ; but not to bring on a general engage- 
ment. Bivouacking the first night about six miles from Elk- 
water, the detachment lay on their arms in silence and without 
fires ; and being aroused by their comrades before daylight, 
came upon the enemy's outposts, eleven and a fourth miles from 
the Federal camp, and between one and two miles from the en- 
emy's camp at Marshall's Store, a still larger force being in their 
rear at Big Springs. 

Part of the force was cavalry, and so suddenly did our 
skirmishers come upon them that they had not time to mount, 
and in some cases a hand-to-hand engagement took place. The 
attacking party, in accordance with previous orders, now pre- 
pared to retire, having effected their object and ascertained the 

41 



322 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

position of the rebel camp. Prisoners taken afterward said that 
fifteen men were killed by our troops, while we had only one 
man wounded. A continuous retiring fire was kept up as long 
as the enemy was in view, and marching back at a slow rate 
the party reached Elkwater camp in a little more than twenty- 
lour hours after leaving it. They learned afterwards that sev- 
eral regiments and pieces of artillery arrived on the ground a 
short time after Colonel Owen's command left. This attack on 
the rebel outposts led to the drawing out of General Lee's en- 
tire force, and his subsequent unsuccessful attempt on General 
Reynolds' camp at Elkwater and Cheat Mountain, 

Colonel Owen soon after led the Fifteenth Indiana — Colo- 
nel Wagner being in command of a brigade — in the action at 
Greenbriar, where the regiment remained over two hours in 
point blank range of the batteries, and finally withdrew in good 
order to Cheat Mountain. 

Immediately after the Greenbriar reconnoissance, Colonel 
Owen, being authorized to raise a new regiment, organized the 
Sixtieth Indiana, which was employed three months in guard- 
ing prisoners of war at Camp Morton. Afterwards it was under 
General Boyle in Kentucky, near the Tennessee line, and fol- 
lowed General Morgan to Lebanon, Kentucky, in which place 
the regiment constructed fortifications, by order of General 
Boyle. 

On the arrival of General Dumont, Colonel Owen was 
placed by him in command of a brigade to expel the enemy 
from Bardstown ; but found they had evacuated. It was after- 
wards ordered to form in line of battle at Lebanon Junction, 
where an attack was momentarily expected, and subsequently 
was detached by order ol General Gilbert, commanding at Lou- 
isville, with a brigade designed to relieve the Mumfordsville 
garrison. On receiving this order General Dumont and Colo- 
nel Owen remarked that the whole brigade was certain to be 
sacrificed, as General Bragg's advance was known to be near 
there, but nothing remained except to obey orders. 

On arriving be was placed in command of the Star Fort, 
in which Major Abbott was killed the day previous. 

After one day's hard fighting — September 16th, 1862 — the 
garrison being surrounded, as was anticipated, by General 



fivansville and its Men of Mark. 823 

Bragg's entire army, with a large amount of artillery, command- 
ing and enfilading all the works, there was no avoiding a capit- 
ulation, which was granted on honorable terms, commanders 
retaining their horses and side arms. 

Colonel Owen and his regiment were exchanged in Novem- 
ber, and ordered on the Vicksburg expedition. Participating 
with General Sherman's troops in the attack, Colonel Owen was 
ordered to skirmish on Chickasaw Bayou, and cover the retir- 
ing army, when it was decided to evacuate. 

By keeping the camp fires burning and making a noise by 
chopping wood, until just befpre leaving at 4 A. M., on the 21st 
of January, 1863, they deceived the enemy and reached the 
boats, five miles distant, in safety. The enemy made a sortie, 
shelled the woods and attacked some boats which had been 
delayed in casting loose. 

The next work in which Colonel Owen was engaged, with 
his regiment, was at Arkansas Post, where, after bivouacking, 
on the night of January 10th, 1863, in front of the fort, they 
formed in line of battle on the 11th, and about noon, in con- 
junction with the Sixteenth Indiana and Eighty-Third Ohio, 
advanced on the fort under heavy artillery direct fire, and a 
cross fire from the rifle pits. Colonel Owen thrice led the regi- 
ment to the charge, in the first of which, Lieutenant Colonel 
Templeton of the Sixtieth, and Lieutenant Colonel Orr of the 
Sixteenth, were wounded near him ; but he escaped unhurt on 
this, as on previous occasions, although exposed to the same 
fire which the regiment sustained, and which killed or wounded 
seventy out of less than three hundred. 

Colonel Owen remained in service until the 11th of July, 
1863, when he resigned, his health being very much impaired." 



Hon. William Reavis. 



^UR subject was born near Princeton, Gibson Co., on 
the 27th of August, 1815. Isham Reavis. his father, 
was originally from North Carolina, but had removed to Ken- 
tucky some years previous to the war of 1812. While living in 
Kentucky he was married, and hearing of the fertile prairies 
of Indiana, he resolved to make his home in that territory. In 
the spring of 1813, he started on a keelboat for Shawneetown, 
and thence via the Wabash and Patoka rivers he came to a 
point now known as Patoka, but which was termed Smithland 
by the original settlers. The Indians were prowling about, and 
as no Treaty of Peace had been declared bt tween Great Britain 
and the United States, he remained within the fort in order to 
secure the necessary protection till the final close of hostilities 
in 1815. Wolves, deer, etc., were so plentiful, that Mrs. Reavis 
kept a rifle and often shot them as they passed through the 
settlement. On one occasion she killed a catamount that was 
attempting in midday to carry off a young pig. Our subject, 
while a boy, never had a year's schooling. At what time he 
learned his letters, he can not remember; but his companions 
have told us of his intense love of reading. Every book, good 
or bad, was read carefully, and he was earnestly hoping for an 
opportunity to obtain an education, when his father was killed 
by the falling of a tree, in 1825, and the support of the family 
was suddenly thrown upon an elder brother and himself. He 
remained at home till 1835, when his mother gave him his free- 
dom and a horse, saddle and bridle He sold the three latter 
for seventy-five dollars, and devoted the proceeds to obtaining 
a little more education at Fort Branch. After four months' 
experience as a student, he started, without a dollar in his 
pocket, to seek his fortune. At the age of twenty-one he was 
married to Miss E. C. Burton, daughter of an old settler. At 




HON. WM. EEAVIS. 



Mvdnsvilte and its Men of Mark. 325 

tke age of sixteen, he had taught school, and soon after his 
marriage he again commenced teaching, as a means of obtaining 
a decent living. He at the same time read theology, with the 
view of entering the General Baptist ministry. He joined the 
church in 1839, was ordained to preach during the same year, 
and was first located in Gibson county. From 1839 to 1847 
he preached regularly at various places in Indiana, Illinois, and 
Kentucky. Mr. Reavis was regarded as among the leading 
divines in the denomination, and was intimately associated with 
such shining lights as Benoni Stinson, Jesse Lane, Jacob Spear, 
and Geo. P. Cavanagh. On account of ill health he was forced 
to retire from the ministry, though he continued to preach at 
intervals for several years. In 1847, he was elected by tbe 
Whigs County Treasurer of Gibson County, and was re-elected 
in 1849 to the same position. In 1852, he was nominated at 
Petersburg for Congress, by the Whigs, and though making a 
most splendid canvass, and running ahead of his ticket in nearly 
every township, was defeated in the general overthrow of the 
Whig organization. 

In 1852, he commenced the study of law, at Princeton, and 
at the same time acted as a real estate broker. He was not ad- 
mitted till 1859, when he moved to Benton, Franklin Co., 111., 
where he received many favors from John A. Logan, then 
practicing law in that county. In 1860, our subject removed 
to McLeansboro, and was successfully engaged in f he profession 
when the civil war of 1861 made a sudden change in his 
career. He commenced canvassing Southern Illinois for recruits 
and made hundreds of addresses for the Union cause. In the 
fall of 1861, he enlisted as a private in the 56th 111., was chosen 
captain of a company, and immediately marched to the front. 
In 1862, while lying sick in a hospital, and acting as Colonel 
Commanding of the Post, the battle of Corinth was in progress. 
Capt. Reavis rallied thirty-eight invalids and took a prominent 
part in that engagement, which resulted in such a glorious 
victory for the Union cause. It was Capt. Reavis who ordered 
the horses of the Richardson battery to be shot, as the Con- 
federates were about taking possession of the guns. 

In the fall of 1862, on account of ill health, he was dis- 
charged from the service, and returned to Indiana. In Decern- 



326 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ber 1862, he removed to Evansville and again returned to the 
active duties of the legal profession. Capt. Reavis was the 
leading claim agent oi Southern Indiana, and has prosecuted 
more claims against the government than any attorney in this 
section of the state. In 1870, he was appointed Register of 
Bankruptcy for the First Congressional District, and is in the 
possession of that office at the date of writing. 

His estimable lady died in 1856. In 1858 he was married 
to Mrs. Lathena Damon, of Vanderbuigh Co., a lady distin- 
guished for her financial skill and forethought, as well as her 
genial manners in the social circle. 

Capt, Reavis is noted alike for fine qualities of head and 
heart, and none outrank him in the esteem of all the old citizens 
of Southern Indiana. 



Willard Carpenter. 



SJ^fffN the history of every community may be found some 
one man, who. for far reaching sagacity, business enter- 
prise, and public spirit, stands pre-eminent among his fellows. 
Evansville has such a man, and though brought into competi- 
tion with many men possessing these qualifies in an eminent 
degree, it is not invidious to claim, that the man, whose name 
stands at the head of this page, occupies this proud position. 
When an iron frame is bound to a bold comprehensive mind, 
business, commerce, capacity for details, and indomitable en- 
ergy, the man who possesses these qualities combined, unless 
handicapped heavily in life's race at the outset, is destined to 
eminence. Such a man the following pages will show Willard 
Carpenter to be, and though he has had, outside himself, no 
advantages, not possessed by all, even the poorest and humblest 
of our young men, he has by his own efforts achieved wealth 
and reputation. His name has long been a synonym in Southern 
Indiana for skill and sagacity. And this is not all. Many 




WILLAED CAEPENTEE. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 327 

men achieve fortunes by means as selfish as the ends they pur- 
sue. Shrewd, no doubt, and acute in their special railing, they 
are still men of narrow mind — men of routine. They lack 
that mental breadth and comprehensiveness which enables them 
to take a large angled view, and realize that even the largest 
business success is secured by that public spirit, which looks to- 
ward public improvements and the development of the com- 
munity and country where their business is situated. Willard 
Carpenter had that mental grasp. Ambitious, as all men who 
succeed are, he appreciated from the beginning the importance 
of public improvements, and saw with singular clearness, that 
in working for the public good and the development of the city 
and community, he was also working in the most effective man- 
ner for his own interests. Some men are incapable of appreciat- 
ing this principle, others grasp it intuitively, still others learn 
and comprehend it more or less perfectly. It is far better 
understood and more generally acted upon now than fifty years 
ago. But the lesson learned or unlearned makes the difference 
between the public spirited man, whose life is public benefac- 
tion, and the fogy who is a clog upon community. Mr. Car- 
penter belongs emphatically to the first class. His zeal for the 
public interests will be seen to have been the leading feature of 
his career, a zeal always tempered with judgment and almost 
always crowned with success. And while as a business man he 
has always intended that his schemes should inure to his own 
benefit, he was never unwilling that the public should share in 
the benefits. And so it has come to pass, that during his lon» 
and active career, in addition to the substantial personal suc- 
cess which has deservedly accrued, Mr, Carpenter has the proud 
consciousness, that his work has not been advantageous to self 
solely, but also to the community at large. His biographer can 
record that for its present prosperity Evansville, and indeed the 
whole Pocket District, is indebted to no man more largely than 
to Willard Carpenter. As before stated, the policy of public 
improvements is now generally conceded, and it is difficult for 
us at this day to appreciate the difficulties with which the 
public spirited man a generation since was forced to contend. 
He must combat with ignorance, indifference, and the fiercer 
opposition of narrow minded men, and when these are combined 



328 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

it requires rare gifts and great industry to overcome them. 
There must be knowledge to instruct, logic to convince, and 
energy to arouse and execute That Mr. Carpenter, with his 
compeers, met full share of these difficulties, will be seen in the 
following pages. That he has succeeded so often, is remarkable; 
that he has failed occasionally is not to be wondered at. 

To-day the great and ever growing interests of the West 
are controlled largely by home talent. Young men, born iD our 
midst, are taking the lead in our great enterprises. A few 
years ago this was different. Our Bank Presidents, Rail Road 
Directors, Manufacturers, Capitalists, and shrewdest Speculat- 
ors were imported, principally from New England. This at 
once suggests Mr. Carpenter's nativity. He is a Yankee — a 
Vermont Yankee, and we might say, in reference to those 
qualities of thrift and energy, which have made New England 
and New England men famous all over the known world, that 
he is a typical Yankee. He brought to the "West with him the 
great physical powers of endurance, the pluck, perseverance 
and insight of his people, and these have been with him and 
formed the basis of his success through his long, active career, 
and now, with his three score and ten years behind him, he is 
able to do and daily does perform more business than many 
young men. Mr. Carpenter is of good old English stock, prop- 
agated for generations in New England, and then transplanted 
to the rich soil of the West, which stimulates all growth and 
gives rich results where the stock is thrifty and strong. He 
may be said in his character to represent the three elements 
which enter into his make-up. The sturdy independence and 
bull dog tenacity of Old England, the keen sagacity of New, 
and the large generous, liberal views which characterize the 
men of the West. Those who follow his history in these pages 
will see all these qualities prominent in his life, and it is not too 
much to say, that while his family was far from affluent and he 
had to combat in early life the hardest poverty, he yet in- 
herited and developed that within himself which was of far 
more worth and value, both to him and others, and which was 
far oetter capital to commence life upon than if his inheritance 
had been instead, broad acres and a large bank account. Cer- 
tainly the story of his life, with its early struggles, its privations 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 329 

its toils, and its successes, is fuller of interest to the young man, 
is more valuable as an example of what courage and energy 
will achieve when directed by judgment, than any record of 
money spent which never cost labor to hand or brain. 

Willard Carpenter was born in Strafford, Orange Co., 
Vermont, on the 15th of March, 1803. He was born upon a 
farm and there spent his earlier years. Among his first re- 
collections is that of assisting to pile in heaps for burning the 
brush and undergrowth which his father and elder brothers 
cleared away in preparing the ground for tillage. The section 
of country where his father resided, was quite as wild and un- 
cultivated as the rural districts in our own State a few years 
ago. Sparsely settled, the original forests still covering the 
face of the country, roads execrable and school privileges 
meagre, the subject of our sketch experienced in Vermont in 
his childhood most of the hardships incident to a frontier life. 
If New Englanders find it difficult to realize such a state of 
affairs, let them remember that "'Tis sixty years since" of 
which we are writing. Mr. Carpenter had the usual experiences 
of a boy's life on a farm. He drove an ox-team over the rough 
roads to Tunbridge, a distance of nine miles, to mill. Worked 
during the summer on the farm, handled the plow, hoe or ax, 
and then when the winter came and the farm was buried under 
the deep snows until spring, the neighboihood school was 
opened, and tucking his pantaloons into his cowhide boots, 
along with the other embryo Financiers, Bank Presidents and 
Railroad Directors of the neighborhood, he broke a path 
through the snow to the school-house, and spent two to four 
months on the hard benches, digging out of musty dog-eared 
books the knowledge that was to stand him in such good stead 
through life. Spring came again, slate and arithmetic, copy- 
book and reader were laid away for nine months, spelling 
matches were forgotten, and the hard routine work of the farm 
began again. 

When this is the round from year to year ; nine months 
on the farm and three in the school-room, often under an ignor- 
ant, inefficient teacher, it requires more than average intellect 
to make much real progress. Most of the ground gained in the 
winter is apt to be lost in the remainder of the year, and 
42 



330 Evamville and its Men of Mark. 

every winter will find the boys traveling over pretty much the 
same ground. A shrewd boy, with a good grip on ideas, will 
retain something of last winter's lessons, and stand a chance of 
seeing the last pages of his arithmetic before the first are en- 
tirely worn out. 

Mr. Carpenter was of this class, and five years of this life, 
averaging perhaps three months per year in the school-room, 
furnish the sum total of his educational facilities in early life. 
He subsequently taught school, and in all probability learned 
as much in teaching as he had ever learned as a pupil ; but the 
fact that he was qualified to teach at all illustrates the mental 
vigor which he must have exercised in boyhood and gives prom- 
ise of his future life. He remained at home with his father 
until he was nineteen years old, receiving his board and clothes, 
and "education" for his labor upon the farm. During these 
years he had, like most Yankee boys, " turned a penny " and 
gained a little stock of money by doing odd chores for the 
neighbors, and petty speculations. The first money the future 
financier ever earned was by digging sarsaparilla, or " snake 
root", and selling it to his uncle. The proceeds of the sale 
amounted to twenty-five cents, and he immediately loaned it 
out at 6 per cent, per annum. In process of time, by the earn- 
ings of odd jobs and the accumulations of interest, all securely 
invested, his capital- swelled until at the age of nineteen he 
found himself unincumbered and undisputed possessor of seven 
dollars. With this sum on hands, he immediately made his 
preparations and set out to seek his fortune. We can not say 
of him, as is always said in the fairy stories ; that his way was 
cleared before him, and a good genius gave him success without 
his looking for it. He had many a stout wrestle with fortune. 
He encountered all the difficulties a poor, unknown young man 
will encounter in the world. He overcame obstacles as many 
another has done, and many another will do, and achieved suc- 
cess by struggling and fighting for it. He was taking a heavier 
contract than he knew, but his capital — the least part of it was 
in his slender purse — proved sufficient for the drafts upon it. 
His preparations for departure were very simple. With a pack 
upon his back, a stout cudgel in hand, he set out upon foot and 
turned his face westward. A long stretch lay before him, but 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 331 

he was young and strong, and inured to toil and hardships. 
Occasionally he would get a "lift" from a passing teamster, who 
would good-naturedly give a ride to a traveller in return for a 
bit of gossip. In those days news facilities were very meagre, 
and the wayfarer would often get lodged and fed in return for 
the information he might give from " furrin parts" and the host 
consider himself the obliged party and decidedly the gainer by 
the operation. In this manner Mr. Carpenter proceeded across 
the country to the Mohawk, and passed through Troy about the 
time of the great fire of 1822. From here he proceeded down 
the river to Albany, reaching there in May. His face was still 
westward, and he remained in Albany but a few days. At 
Albany he made his first mercantile venture. His investment 
— the nemisor of so many later and larger ones — consisted in 
turning his cash capital of seven dollars into a stock of Yankee 
Notions. With his pack on his shoulder he resumed the route 
and sturdily tramped up the valley of the Mohawk in the pleas- 
ant spring weather on his way to Buffalo. The route through 
this most charming region which, in our day, in one of the 
magnificent Palace Coaches of the New York Central Railroad 
consumes but a few hours, and is a perpetual pleasure, was an- 
other kind of journey to the itinerant merchant. Proceeding 
slowly on foot, often turning aside to the quaint old Dutch farm 
houses to offer his wares for sale, he no doubt, despite his youth, 
and health, and strength, had many' a back-ache and was often 
footsore and weary, still the journey was not unprofitable. 

His traveling expenses were paid, and he often secured a 
ride in the huge lumbering old freight wagons, which at that 
time monopolized the carrying trade of the valley between Buf- 
falo and Albany, and supplied the place of the Erie Canal and 
the New York Central R. R. In due time he reached Buffalo, 
but did not tarry. His face was still westward, and passing on 
down the Lake Shore, he crossed Pennsylvania and penetrated 
Ohio as far as Salem. Here he found an uncle who had emi- 
grated to Ohio some years previously, and rested from his long 
journey. But he could not be quiet long. He had come out 
into the world to make his fortune, and his activity soon mani- 
fested itself. Ready for anything in the shape of business that 
promised remuneration, he wore no kid gloves and was not fas- 



832 Bvansville and Us Men of Mark. 

tidious. If he could not find the work that suited him best, he 
was willing to take what might offer, and was as ready with his 
muscle as he was ready with his brain when the time came. 
The first employment that offered was a job of clearing off 
eighty acres of forest land. He promptly closed the contract 
at five dollars per acre, and employing two men he set to work, 
and during the summer and autumn of the same year — 1822 — 
they finished the contract. Owing to the scarcity of currency, 
grain was frequently used as money, and even notes of hand 
were given to be paid in grain. Mr. Carpenter received his 
pay, $400, in notes of this description, and after settling with 
his assistants, he disposed of the remaining notes to a Detroit 
distillery firm. 

Mr. Carpenter was now twenty years of age. He had done 
a hard Summer's work, and had evidently made a favorable 
impression upon the people, by his pluck and willingness to 
"turn a hand." A school teacher was needed in an adjoining 
neighborhood. The school directors turned their minds upon 
the young Yankee, and offered him the situation. The place 
was by no means the most desirable one. The country was new, 
and the pay not large. They bid one hundred and forty dollars 
for his services during the Winter. He accepted, and spent 
the Winter of 1822-3, in teaching. In the Spring, having 
received his pay in grain notes, as before, he turned his atten- 
tion to mechanical pursuits, and after consideration, concluded 
to learn the business of tanning and shoe making. According- 
ly, he formed a contract with a Mr. Brown, and entered his 
employment. As he gained an insight into the business, he 
became dissatisfied. It was not so pleasant or profitable as he 
had supposed, and after an experience of six months he retired. 
The firm was well pleased with him, however, and were very 
anxious to retain his services. In reply to their solicitations, 
he answered, comprehensively : " You have been here ten years; 
you are and have been doing all the business in this section of 
the country. You are now worth only about seven thousand 
dollars, including both land and personal property. This will 
not do for me ; it is too slow. I am not going to work all my 
life arid accumulate nothing. I shall go to some other country." 
This may seem pretty large talk from a young man not yet 




Walnut Street Presbyterian Church. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 333 

twenty-one years old and probably not worth two hundred 
dollars in the world. But this young Yankee had a thing or 
two in his head, and knew pretty well what he was about. He 
set about disposing of bis grain notes, the proceeds of his school 
teaching, which he still held, and in a short time concluded a 
trade for a horse and accoutrements, a silver watch and sixteen 
dollars in money. Mounting his horse, he turned eastward this 
time, and took the route back to New York, intending to look 
out for a location where he could turn his time and labor to • 
more profitable use than he had done in Ohio, though most men 
would have been satisfied with the result of his work in Salem. 
But young Carpenter was not satisfied. He felt that a wider 
field was needed for the development of his faculties, and he 
determined to seek it. 

On his way back towards Buffalo, he met with an experi- 
ence, not peculiar, but which still deserves a place in this biog- 
raphy. It taught him a lesson which he was not slow to learn, 
and the one lesson has served him through life. It has never 
needed to be repeated. Many men learn the lesson only from 
experience, and it was probably as well that he should learn it 
then, as later. The game of the " Little Joker " was not as gen- 
erally understood then as now, and though, as always, it was — 
" Now you see it, and now yau don't see it " — young Carpenter 
thought he had seen it last and might safely risk his watch on 
a guess as to its whereabouts. He guessed it once, but instead 
of being satisfied with two watches, he wanted another. His 
success in guessing was not remarkable afterward, and in a little 
time both watches and all his money but a single dollar were 
gone. The sharpers however, not after the manner of sharpers, 
gave him back four dollars of his money. He sadly mounted his 
horse, plucked pigeon as he was, with five dollars, four of them 
by the generosity of his pluckers, in hi^s pocket, and felt as a 
man may be supposed to feel in his situation, and yet withal 
glad that it was no worse. Indeed, on the whole, for a young 
man who has started out to make his fortune and who had just 
left a situation because his proprietors had made but seven thou- 
sand dollars in ten years, it was rather humiliating. However, 
as the lesson came early and at a time when he had little to 
lose, and as he had really gotten off very well in saving his 



334 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

horse, and, in addition, as Mr. Carpenter has never hazarded a 
guess on the little joker since that day, he had reason to con- 
gratulate himself rather than otherwise. 

Mr. Carpenter proceeded on his way, and before he reached 
Buffalo he was attacked with a serious illness. He did not suc- 
cumb however, and succeeded in reaching Manlins, a town 
lying some miles eastward from Buffalo. Here he found an old 
schoolmate from Vermont who had settled in Manlins as a mer- 
chant. Being seriously ill and his money exhausted, he grate- 
fully accepted an offer from his old friend, and remained in his 
house about two weeks. Recovering his health, and always 
feeling restive with empty pockets, he engaged to a man named 
Hutchings to assist in floating a raft of staves down the Mohawk 
to Schenectady, about two hundred miles. He was to receive 
sixteen dollars a month for his services. He concluded to leave 
his horse at Manlins with Mr. Preston, his host, until he should 
return. He was occupied for two months on the raft, and when 
they reached Schenectady the cargo was attached for debt. 
Mr. Hutchins failed badly, and could pay nothing to his hands. 
There was nothing for it but to walk back to Manlins after his 
horse. But Mr. Carpenter had now struck a streak of bad luck 
and it seemed that the lead was not worked out yet. On arriv- 
ing at Manlins, he found that during his absence his horse had 
died and of all his savings nothing remained. In mining par- 
lance, he had now struck "hard pan." He could get no lower. 
His money and his wages were gone, his horse was gone, and it 
seemed as if fortune could do no more against him. Any 
change must be for the better, and there was a kind of comfort 
even in that. He was not daunted ; his Yankee blood and 
pluck had now an opportunity to exhibit itself. He had been 
on foot at first, before he rode, ar.d though he was on foot once 
more, he had no doubt of soon being able to ride again. Instead 
of waiting for something to turn up, he started out to turn 
something up, and we next see him engaged at eleven dollars 
per month to a large farmer and hop grower, named Coolidge. 
He remained with Coolidge two months and again changed his 
occupation. 

At this time the Erie Canal was in progress, and a Mr. 
Anderson of Little Knolls, on the Mohawk, had quite a large con- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 335 

tract and employed about a thousand hands. Carpenter drifted 
into this crowd, and at thirteen dollars per month went to work 
with shovel, pick and wheelbarrow. The work and pay were 
not bad, but the lodgings unsatisfactory. Young Carpenter was 
anything but fastidious, but two hundred Irishmen in a long 
board shanty, piling up in the straw on the floor, did not prove 
agreeable. After three nights he hunted out a barn in the 
neighborhood, and, with permission of the farmer, he took a 
blanket and found abundance of clean straw and no Irishmen. 
He made this barn his headquarters for five months, sleeping 
alone and joining the hands at the shanty before the day's work" 
began. In two months he was promoted by Mr. Anderson, his 
employer, to the position of ''jigger carrier," to serve the men 
with their grog. During the time he held this position, he re- 
ceived twenty dollars per month. About this time, also, Mr. 
Anderson advanced him some money and allowed him to take a 
trip by the canal down to Schenectady, "He purchased some arti- 
cles, such as the men would need, and by the sale of them again 
began to accumulate a little money. He continued at Little 
Knolls until about the first of December, when, finding his barn 
lodgings beginning to be too cold for comfort, and not being 
able to suit himself elsewhere, he settled up with his employer, 
much to the latter's regret, and again set forth on his travels. 
Thus closed Mr. Carpenter's connection with the Erie Canal, a 
connection not so distinguished as was Geo. Clinton's, but quite 
as honorable, and of which, under the circumstances, he has as 
just reasons to be proud. Mr. Carpenter is not the only man of 
mark who wrought on that great National work. Hon. Ben. 
Wade, of Ohio, once handled the pick and shovel there. 

Mr, Carpenter started for Troy, and at a place called 
Granville Corners, he stopped at a tavern for dinner. A 
school was in session in the neighborhood, and there had 
been going on for some time a discussion between the big boys 
and the teacher, as to who should govern the school. The dis- 
pute had culminated and the crisis had arrived the day Mr. Car- 
penter reached the neighborhood. The boys had proven too 
many for the pedagogue, and had summarily ejected him from 
his throne. The trustees felt that a change in teachers was 
needed. One of them got a sight of Mr. Carpenter, and saw 



336 Rvansville and its Men of Mark. 

something in the young man's eye, which led him to believe 
that, if he could induce him to take the school, and the old dis- 
cussion should come up, it would have a different issue. Inquir- 
ies were made if Mr. Carpenter had ever taught, and, upon 
learning that he had wielded the birch in Ohio, the crucial 
question was asked; " Can you manage the boys, and keep order 
in the school?" The young man leplied that he did not think 
there would be much difficulty in that. The bargain was soon 
closed, the trustees humorously giving Mr. Carpenter the priv- 
ilege of killing one-half of the pupils, if he would make the 
other half eat them. Mr Carpenter took charge of the school 
immediately, with the understanding that he was to receive 
three dollars per quarter, for each scholar, and furnish his own 
board and lodging. This point was specified, as it was formerly 
the custom in rural districts, for the " master" to " board around" 
among the scholars, that is, to divide up the time and spend a 
week with each of his patrons successsively. The young teacher 
grasped the birch with a firm hand, and determined to rule. 
Things went well for a day or two. The two hostile parties, 
the toacher on one side and the hitherto victorious boys on the 
other, were watching each other and studying the situation. 
The boys felt that their reputation was at stake, and probably 
realizing that the moral effect of their late triumph would be 
lost if they deferred operations too long, they commenced hos- 
tilities. On the third day, while the teacher was at dinner, the 
enemy took possession of a nice new ruler, which he had made, 
and burned it. He made due inquiry, but could find no 
trace of it. He quietly made another and waited the next 
move. Two days afterward the trick was repeated, and his 
search met with the same success as before. He now took one 
of the younger boys, a bright little fellow who was not in the 
ring, into his confidence, and under promise of secrecy, exacted 
from fear of the older boys, the little fellow told him of the 
conspiracy and the names of the conspirators, as well as the 
history of the rulers. The next day he sent word to the trustees 
to meet him in the school room in the afternoon. Coming in 
from dinner he gave a boy his knife and directed him to go to 
the woods and cut a bundle of withes. When the trustees had 
arrived and withes were ready, the teacher then gave a history 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 337 

of the conspiracy and the overt acts already committed. He 
then made three propositions : 1st, That the offenders should 
ask pardon of the teacher, the trustees and the school, and 
promise obedience for the future ; 2nd, That they should take a 
flogging ; or, 3d, leave the school. The propositions met with 
the approval of the trustees, and Mr. Carpenter proceeded to 
apply them. Calling on the ring leader, older and larger than 
the teacher, and submitting the propositions, asked him which 
he would accept. He insolently replied: neither. Here was 
issue clearly made, Walking quietly to the door, Mr. Carpen- 
ter opened it. Returning to the room, he seized the fire poker, 
and made a rush for his enemy. . The blustering bully did not 
stand the charge, but made for the door, and tumbling down 
the steps, measured his length in the dooryard. Considering 
him disposed of, Mr, Carpenter closed the door and turned to 
the other pupils, and called upon the other conspirators to stand 
up. Feeling that their case had gone against them, no one was 
disposed to a contest with the man who had routed their bully 
so easily; they all submitted. Some left the school; others took 
their flogging, and from that hour Mr. Carpenter was the 
unquestioned master of the situation. He had subdued the 
most troublesome and unruly school in the country, in less than 
a week, and never had trouble with them afterward. He 
remained here two years, gained the confidence of the children 
and their parents, and even a good feeling was established 
with the conspirators. During the two years he remained here, 
he rented some land and raised about twenty acres of corn each 
year, receiving assistance from his pupils in tilling it. In the 
latter part of the year 1824, his father came to visit him, and 
strongly urged him to go back to Vermont. As an inducement his 
father offered him a farm. Bat Mr. Carpenter knew that fortune 
had something better for him than an average Vermont farm. 

The reader will remember his reasons for leaving Ohio and 
the leather business, and he had not changed his mind since. 
He was rather an ambitious man, this young Yankee. With 
his views of the matter it did not require much self denial to 
reject steadily his father's offer. We have now to record an 
incident which brings clearly into view his sturdy independence 
and his disposition to stand upon his own feet. 
43 



338 fivansville and its Men of Marl:. 

When be refused the farm, his father proposed to adjust 
the matter by giving him an equivalent in money. This would 
amount to six hundred dollars, a sum equal to that which the 
other children received. This, for some reason known to him- 
self, he refused also. He preferred to build his fortune upon 
his own efforts. Soon after, his school closing, he visited his 
father's family, and atter spending a short time at the old 
homestead, he returned to New York in the year 1824, and 
settled in Troy. He brought to Troy his older brother John, 
who had been in feeble health, (but who is still living and 
resides at Portage, Wisconsin.) , 

Mr. Carpenter now concluded to make another venture into 
the mercantile world. His brother had no means and his cash 
capital consisted of about tbree hundred and fifty dollars. This 
was rather a small capital with which to commence business, 
but remembering the proverb of the nimble penny, the two 
brothers laid in a small stock of groceries. The first year's 
business amounted to $2,500. This was rather a small trade, 
and though the brothers had lived quite economically, boarded 
themselves, cooked for themselves and washed their own dishes, 
still the profits could not have been large. Mr. Carpenter con- 
cluded he could do a brisker trade with a horse and wagon, and 
providing himself an outfit, started into the country. 

This trade was more profitable, and in the year 1827 the 
brothers ventured into the dry goods line. They bought a 
stock of goods from a Mr. Lewis Burtis, an old Quaker 
merchant of the town. The stock was invoiced to them at 
$1600, aud they were to have a credit of eighteen months. 
This was the foundation of a dry goods business which, under 
Willard Carpenter's management afterwards grew to large pro- 
portions. The brothers soon found that they had given a very 
handsome price for the stock of old shop worn goods and rem- 
nants. In fact, they were worth about half what had been 
paid for them, but by vigorous use of the horse and wagon they 
were finally all worked off on the route. Willard, the senior 
partner, then by advise ol Mr. Burtis, who had sold him his 
stock, concluded to buy in the New York market. The shrewd 
old Quaker had made a good thing out of him himself, and as 
he saw the young man was bound to succeed, he was not un- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 339 

willing that his friends should make something out of him too. 
So he accompanied Mr. Carpenter down to the Metropolis 
and introduced him to several Quaker friends, making such 
representations of his ability and enterprise, that the merchants 
sold the firm $25,000 worth of goods upon their notes, without 
indorsement, payable in bank and running four, six and eight 
months. This speaks volumes for the character of the young 
man, and shows how firmly his business reputation had become 
established to secure such recommendations. 

When Willard reached home anH showed what he had 
done, his brother was thunderstruck. The thing was astound- 
ing and he could not realize it. He was timid, could not under- 
stand a bold stroke of business, and felt himself called upon to 
repudiate the transaction. A dissolution immediately followed. 
It was best so. No timid man could understand or appreciate 
such a mint! as Willard Carpenter's. He would be a perpetual 
clog upon him, and it was better that the dissolution should 
occur at the outset. Willard sent for his brother Ephraim, 
older than himself, who was a practicing physician in Vermont, 
and invited him to a partnership. Ephraim entered the busi- 
ness. He too was bold and enterprising, a man alter his 
brother's own heart, and they continued together ten years, 
doing the heaviest business of any firm in Troy. 

In the year 1835, A. B. Carpenter, the youngest brother, 
emigrated to Indiana and settled in Evansville. He began a 
small retail dry goods business. His trade grew and soon 
became of respectable proportions. Seeing a good opening for 
future development, he visited Troy in 1836 and induced his 
brothers composing the firm there, to join with him and estab- 
lish a wholesale dry goods and notion house in Evansville. The 
new firm began under favorable auspices, but our readers will 
remember that it was just on the eve of the great financial 
crash of 1837. In common with all the business of the 
country the firm of Carpenter Bros, suffered. New firms 
especially when doing a bold business, of course were least pre- 
pared to stand the shock, and in 1837 the firm was dissolved, 
the Troy branch passing into the hands of E. Carpenter and a 
brother-in-law named Liberty Gilbert, and Willard Carpenter 
together with A. B. Carpenter, taking charge of the Evansville 
branch. 



340 Bvansville and its Men of Mark. 

Thus, in 1837, the subject of our sketch was personally 
introduced to the business circles of Evansville. He was thirty- 
four years old, with fine physical powers, great endurance, and 
the skill acquired during the last twelve past years, in which 
he had conducted a prosperous business in Troy. He soon 
found opportunity to show his metal, and speedily took rank 
among the most able financiers and vigorous business men of 
Southern Indiana. 

Upon arrival at Evansville he found the business of the 
firm in a bad way. Their up country correspondents were in a 
very precarious condition, and it would take sharp work to real- 
ize any thing out of their accounts. Mr. Carpenter was equal 
to the emergency. Swift, both in conception and execution, 
he signalized his advent to Evansville by an almost incredible 
piece of work which distanced all his competitors, men too who 
were familiar to the ground to which he was an entire stranger, 
and saved his house from disaster and a large loss. He had 
reached Evansville on Sunday and found his brother at the 
old Mansion House, on the corner of First and Locust streets, 
at present the site of the Opera House. On the Monday follow- 
ing a company of merchants was to leave for the upper country 
by way of Vincennes and Terre Haute. He took in the situa- 
tion at a glance and determined to outstrip them. Major 
Warner of the Mansion House was at the time running a tri- 
weekly stage line to Vincennes and Terre Haute. Mr. Carpen- 
ter made an arrangement, with the Major for a relay of horses, 
and at 9 P. M. on Sunday night he started north. Monday 
morning found him in Vincennes He employed Judge Law to 
take charge of his business there, and pushed on to Terre 
Haute, where he placed his accounts in the hands of Judge 
Farington. Daylight Tuesday morning found him in Danville, 
Ills., closeted with an attorney and arranging for the care of his 
claims. He then started on his return. With fresh horses 
every ten or fifteen miles, and keeping in the saddle day and 
night, he was enabled on about Wednesday noon to meet the 
other merchants on their outward journey, between Vincennes 
and Terre Haute. The result may be stated here: The Carpen- 
ters received their claims in full, while the others hardly real- 
ized ten cents on the dollar. This remarkable business feat 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 341 

gave Mr. Carpenter a reputation at once. Although a young 
man yet, he was at once, perhaps in allusion to his mature 
judgment, styled " Old Willard", a soubriquet he has retained 
ever since. 

In the February following, Mr. 0. returned to Troy to 
finally close up the affairs of the old firm, which he succeeded 
in doing, and while east was married, in 1837, to Miss Lucina 
Burcalow, daughter of Leffordson Burcalow, Esq., of Saratoga 
County, New York, with whom he has lived happily for thirty- 
six years. His business affairs being satisfactorily settled he 
left Troy on the 3rd of July for New York, reaching there on 
July 4th. He remained but a few hours in New York, and on 
the same day set out on his return to Evansville. He came by 
way of Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and thence by river. Owing 
to the low stage of water in the Ohio, he was two weeks 
between Pittsburgh and Evansville, reaching home on the 5th 
of August. 

His public spirit soon began to manifest itself. He erected 
the Farmer's Hotel, and stables capable of accommodating fifty 
horses. He had small encouragement at the time to suppose 
that the investment would be directly profitable, but he saw the 
need ol the accommodations and judged that they would facili- 
tate trade. He speedily began to take an interest in public 
matters. The financial disasters of the year before had been 
wide spread, and the State of Indiana, which had been going 
extensively into public improvements, some years before, felt 
the shock severely, and the public credit was seriously shaken. 
Large amounts of bonds had been issued to aid in the construc- 
tion of the Wabash and Erie Canal. The financial crash had 
come and left money scarce, times hard, and prospects gloomy. 
The credit of the State was strained, and she was unable to pay 
the interest on her debt. The outlook was very gloomy and 
many feared that the State would have to repudiate. Carpen- 
ter realized the situation. He foresaw clearly the disasters that 
would result from repudiation and devoted his energies to save 
his adopted State from the humiliation. He agitated the ques- 
tion in connection with such men as Chas. I. Battell, Nathan 
Rowley, Wm. H. Law, Lucius H. Scott, Hon. Conrad Baker, 
Judge Law, and others interested in the financial integrity of 



342 ftvansville and its Men of Mark. 

the State and the prosperity of the country. He urged that some 
method should be taken to secure the validity of the public 
debt, and after several meetings were held, it was decided that 
Congress should be memoralized and asked to devote one-half 
the public lands within the boundaries of the Evansville Land 
District, for the purpose of aiding the completion of the 
Wabash and Erie Canal. A petition was drawn up in accord- 
ance with this resolution, and Mr. Carpenter devoted six 
months to traveling at his own expense and circulating the 
petition. He visited the Legislature of New York and several 
of the New England Legislatures, and by his representations, 
he secured the passage of joint resolutions instructing their 
several delegations in the two houses of Congress to aid in 
the measure. The petition was circulated in seventeen of the 
States largely by Mr. Carpenter's personal efforts. 

In the autumn of 1843 a public meeting was held in Evans- 
ville and it was decided to send a man to Washington to urge the 
measure upon Congress Willard Carpenter was selected as the 
man, and accordingly he proceeded to Washington and was 
there during the session of 1843-4. The question of the an- 
nexation was the exciting topic of this session, and Mr. Carpen- 
ter found party feeling running very high. Carpenter was a 
Whig. The Congress was strongly Democratic, and he felt the 
need of assistance in pressing his measure. He wrote back for 
help and Tilman A. Howard was sent to assist him. Howard 
was of material aid. Robert Dale Owen was the chairman of 
the House Committee on Public Improvements, and Howard 
was his personal and political friend. He was also a personal 
friend of the President. The current was soon turned. The 
matter was urged and favorably looked upon, and though it was 
not reached this session, it came up and was passed during the 
session of 1844-5. 

The credit of this measure was largely due to Mr. Carpen- 
ter. He had worked long and efficiently for it, and when it 
succeeded the State saw a way out of its financial embarrass- 
ment. But for it repudiation would probably have been the 
result. 

It is not proposed to open up this old canal question, or 
enter into the merits of the settlement between the State and 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 343 

bondholders. Such a discussion would be foreign to the pur- 
pose of these pages., even if want of space did not forbid it. 
They are alluded to only so far as is necessary to show Mr. Car- 
penter's connection with them. Suffice it to say, that after con- 
siderable further exertions the Butler bill was passed at the 
Legislative session of 1846-7, and settlement reached upon 
that basis. One-half of the bonds were cancelled, the canal and 
lands given to the bondholders in lieu thereof, the State released 
from the burden, and repudiation averted. 

In tracing continuously Mr. Carpenter's connection with 
the Canal question, the chronology has been brought forward 
several years, and it is not now necessary to go back and show 
that he was energetic and busy as ever in other directions. 

In 1840 Mr. Carpenter and his brother sold out their store, 
and the same year he was elected County Commissioner, run- 
ning as an independent candidate. He entered rigorously 
upon the duties of the office. Made a personal examination of 
all the roads leading into Evansville, advanced the money to 
build the first bridge over Wagnon's Creek, and also to corduroy 
the Princeton road to the bridge. He advanced freely of his 
money to aid the county, and for a small part of these advances 
he received County Orders at par. In three years after he 
took office, County orders advanced from 37s- to 90 cents on the 
dollar. The County was paying $3000 ior the maintenance of 
its poor on his accession to office. In 1842 he advocated the 
building of a County Asylum, but was opposed by his Associ- 
ates. He then proposed to build a house at his own expense 
upon his own land, and to contract for $1500 per year to fur- 
nish board and lodging for the county poor. This offer was 
accepted by the Commissioners, and the county saved one-half 
of its annual expense by the operation. This contract was re- 
newed for two years, when an asylum was built. 

As an evidence of the popularity of Mr. Carpenter as 
County Commissioner, he was elected for a second term over his 
own protest. 

In 1850, Mr. Carpenter took an active part in the Evans- 
ville and Crawfordsville Railroad enterprise. He worked vig- 
orously to secure subscriptions of stock, and subscribed himself 
a larger amount to the road than any other person in Evans- 



344 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

ville, and was elected a member of the first Board of Directors. 
The road, as is well known, was originally intended to run from 
Princeton up the White River Valley, but owing to large local 
subscriptions and personal influence, the line was changed to 
the Wabash Valley, and made to include Vincennes and Terre 
Haute in the route. Mr. Carpenter, as a member of the Board 
of Directors, opposed the change of route, but was overruled. 
After two years' service, Mr. Carpenter, dissatisfied with the 
policy, resigned his position as Director. 

Soon afterwards he became associated with Hon. Oliver H. 
Smith, United States Ex-Senator, and organized the Evansville, 
Indianapolis and Cleveland Straight Line Railroad Company. 
The company was organized under a general charter from the 
State. 

Mr. Carpenter was elected a member of the Lower House 
of the State Legislature in 1851, and served during the long 
session of 1851-2. He was known as a valuable working, busi- 
ness member of the body. 

The Straight Line Railroad enterprise excited much oppo- 
sition. As a straight line road, it was unable to satisfy the de- 
mands of all the towns lying contiguous to its proposed route, 
and they naturally opposed all grants to aid its construction. 
The matter is a very voluminous one, and it is not proposed to 
enter into it very extensively. Mr. Carpenter determined to 
prosecute the work. The City Council of Evansville voted 
1200,000 in bonds in aid of the enterprise, and this encouraged 
Mr. Carpenter, the brains and energy of the enterprise, to l>egin 
the work. He embarked his private fortune, and by vigorous 
efforts, in the Spring of 1857, he had the first division of fifty- 
five miles, from Evansville to the crossing of the Ohio and Mis- 
sissippi Railroad, nearly ready for the iron. In the latter part 
of April, Mr. Carpenter, conceiving that enough work had been 
done to give promise of the completion of the road, went to 
Europe to procure the iron for the first division, and negotiate 
a loan from the foreign capitalists. He visited the capitalists 
and iron manufacturers, represented the road, was favorably 
received and had strong probabilities of success. In fact he 
had nearly completed the purchase of the iron for the first divi- 
sion with the first mortgage bonds of the road. 



Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 345 

During this time the opponents of the road were not idle. 
A pamphlet, adverse to the interest of the enterprise, was sent 
to England and distributed among the bankers and iron men, 
soon after Mr. Carpenter's arrival. The tide turned. Thus 
attacked in the rear, and from the very home of the enterprise, 
he was unable to make headway and his negotiations ultimate- 
ly failed. Discouraged but not despairing, Mr. Carpenter left 
Europe and turned his face homeward. In London he called 
upon Vorse, Perkins & Co., who were acquainted with the rail- 
road interests of Evansville, and opened negotiations with them. 
He endeavored to enlist them in an effort to secure the iron on 
the bonds of the road. After some discussion, the question 
arose as +o the freight and duties on the iron, which could be 
met only by cash. In lieu of cash he offered them the $100,- 
000 in city bonds. The offer was accepted and the firm agreed 
to receive the bonds. The contract was then arranged, and the 
bonds, city and mortgage, were to be delivered to Messrs 
Vorse & Perkins, in July, 1857, at their branch office in New 
York. Mr. Carpenter immediately wrote to H. D. Allis, the 
Vice Pres't. of the road, to have the City Council called togeth- 
er and the issue ordered of the bonds. Here again the efforts 
of Mr. Carpenter were rendered abortive through the influence 
of the opposition. The Council failed to order the issue, and the 
company was unaMe to carry out its contract with Messrs. Vorse 
& Perkins. This was the finishing blow to the enterprise, for 
that time at least, and Mr. Carpenter, after five years of faith- 
ful work, and the loss of a great part of his fortune, was forced 
to abandon the enterprise and wait a more auspicious time. 
The road failed from no want of merit of its own or skill and 
vigor in its management, but simply because other and antago- 
nistic interests were too strong for it. The city was afterwards 
compelled to pay the bonds which Mr. Carpenter negotiated. 
Mr. Carpenter conld not extricate himself from his entangle- 
ment, and soon after failed, and lost a quarter of a million of 
dollars. Since that time his life has been comparatively unevent- 
ful. He was over ten years in recovering from his financial 
embarrasments. 

Every man who has met with the success in business, which 
had crowned Mr. Carpenter's efforts, and who is posessed of that 
44 



34:6 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

great good sense and positive character, which so peculiarly char- 
acterized the man, has his enemies both secret and open, and he 
did not prove an exception to the rule. On the contrary, his un- 
paralled success in business, his superior intellect and great 
positiveness of character, had made him a large number of bitter 
and inveterate enemies, and these, taking advantage of tbe 
misfortunes, which without fault on his part, had overtaken him 
in the Straight-Line Railroad enterprise, and swept from him 
his large fortune, commenced an open and fierce warfare upon 
him. 

He was abused and his character slandered and traduced 
as ho other has been. For years his enemies caused a stream 
of calumny to be poured out upon his name and character, and 
the result was that his hitherto good and irreproachable name 
and character suffered greatly, through this stream of misrepre- 
sentations and slander. For years he was compelled to remain 
under the cloud of his misfortunes, but with his iron will, 
indominitable energy and fixed purpose to retrieve his ruined 
fortunes and vindicate his good name and character, he 
undauntedly breasted the storm, determined to fight his enemies 
wherever and whenever they offered battle, and to prove to the 
public that he was innocent of the varied charges of bad faith 
which had been brought against him. In his extensive business 
relations, he had of necessity to form connections with people 
in whom he placed implicit confidence as genuine friends. A 
number of these proved false to him, and instead of standing by 
him in his troubles, as they were in duty bound to do, they 
joined in with his enemies and assisted in increasing and inten- 
sifying his troubles, by involving him in almost interminable 
litigations. 

A proof of the wonderful powers of Mr. Carpenter's will — 
his rectitude and fixedness of purpose — is to be found in the 
history of these trials, filled as they were with questions of 
interest, all of which he met with an evident conscious inno- 
cence, an unyielding will and consummate bravery, such as is 
seldom witnessed in the history of any one. In nearly every 
instance of this character he finally triumphed. After he had 
by his untiring industry and his wonderful business qualifica- 
tions, succeeded in retrieving his lost fortunes, those who were 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 347 

under greater obligations than all the others, to aid him in his 
troubles, joined in with his enemies and attempted to deprive 
him of all his property, and also, to destroy his, name forever. 

But in these, as in every other instance of the kind, he met 
the attacks manfully and thwarted them in there nefarious pur- 
poses, and thus, from the commencement of his pecuniary mis- 
fortunes, he has gone on battling with his enemies until he has 
finally triumphed over them, and his popularity and standing 
among his fellow-citizens, and in the community generally, is 
fully restored. 

His efforts for the past twenty years have been mainly 
devoted to building up Evansville, and a list of his benefactions 
will show how generously he has used his means for this 
purpose. Tlie religious and educational interests of Evansville 
have been well remembered by him. 

In the year 1869, during the great revival conducted by 
Mr. Hammond, he united with the Vine St. Presbyterian 
Church. 

Of late Mr. Carpenter has been associated with the Rolling 
Mill and several proposed Railroads, but the future alone will 
insure their success. 

It is impossible in the limits of such an article as this, to 
give an adequate history of a life like his. But it has been 
attempted to so outline the salient points of his career, that in 
after years the student may know something of the life and 
struggles of one whose name must always stand prominent in 
the history of the city, and who has contributed largely to lay 
the foundation of its future greatness. 



MEMORANDA, CARPENTER FAMILY. 



Willard Carpenter, Sr., was born April 3d, 1767, and died 
at Strafford, Vt., November 14th, 1854. Was married to Polly 
Bacon at Woodstock, Conn., February 23d, 1791. 

Polly Bacon was born March 15th, 1769, and died March 
4th, I860, at Strafford, Orange Co., Vt. 



348 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 



CHILDREN. 



Betsey Carpenter was born Dec. 15th, 1791. 
Parker Carpenter was born Jan. 24th, 1794. 
Ephraim Carpenter was born Feb. 5th, 1796. 
Harvey Carpenter was born Dec. 19th, 1798. 
John Carpenter was born Nov. 25th, 1800. 

f Mary Carpenter was born March 14th, 1803. 
\ Willard Carpenter was bom March 15th, 1803. 
Joseph Carpenter was born March 29th, 1805. 
Samantha Carpenter was born March 12th, 1807. ' 

f Lucia Carpenter was born March 6th, 1810. 
\ Lucius Carpenter was born March 6th, 1810. 
Alvin Bacon Carpenter was born July 17th, 1812. 

CHILDRENS' DEATHS. 

Harvey Carpenter diecTMarch 9tb, 1825. 
Ephraim Carpenter died Aug. 6th, 1858. 
Joseph Carpenter died Aug ; 7th, 1860. 
Betsey Carpenter died 1869. 

All the children, twelve in number, were born and raised 
on the same farm in Strafford, Vt. 

(From a Vermont Paper .) 

DIED — In Straffoid, Vt,, at the residence of Lucius Carpenter, March 3rd, 
I860, Mrs. Polly Carpenter, relict of the late Willard Carpenter, aged 92 years. 

The deceased, with her husband, was one of the earliest settlers of the town of 
Strafford, where they emigrated irom Connecticut while the country was yet a wilder- 
ness. Here they lived, till at the time of her decease, the deceased had had 12 children, 
52 grand-children, 53 great-grand-children and 1 great-great-graud-child. [Thus living 
to see 118 lineal descendants. 



A. B. and W. Carpenter's Business Connections. 



About the 1st of May, 1828, W. Carpenter sent for 
A. B., then in his fifteenth year, to come to Troy, N. Y., where 
he and his brother John were engaged in trade in a small way. 
A. B. was with them about two years, mostly in the grocery 
trade. In",' 1831, or about that time, Ephraim came from Vt., 
and purchased his brother John's interest, and Ephraim and 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 349 

W. C. formed a partnership in the dry goods business, and A. B. 
commenced peddling for E. & W. Carpenter, they furnishing 
the goods and receiving one-half the profits. This was contin- 
ued for about five years, when A. B became a partner ; firm 
name, A. B. Carpenter & Co. In 1835, purchased a stock of 
dry goods, boots, shoes, etc., and went to Evansville, Indiana. 
In 1838, Wiliard purchased the interest of Ephraim Carpenter 
in the West, and sold to him the Troy and Eastern business. 
Wiliard then removed to Evansville, where he continued in 
business until 1841, wheu he sold out to Steward & Amory. 
A. B. & W- C. were largely engaged in real estate and milling 
business. A. B. removed to New Orleans for the purpose of 
handling flour and produce shipped from Evansville. Remained 
in New Orleans one year ; then returned to Evansville, remain- 
ing there until the Summer 'of 1846, when A. B. went to 
Beloit, Wisconsin. In 1844, W. C. & A. B. had a settlement 
of most of their partnership business. For over forty years they 
have had dealings to a large amount without having any final 
settlement until May, 1872. 



A. B. Carpenter's Family. 



Alvin B. Carpenter was married to Almira L. Dutcher, at 
Troy, N. Y., July 5th, 1839. 

CHILDREN. 

James M. Carpenter was born Nov. 3d, 1840, at Evansville, 
Ind. 

Mary A. Carpenter was born June 9th, 1842, at New 
Orleans, La, 

Hattie A. Carpenter was born March 8th, 1847, at Beloit, 
Wisconsin. 

Annie B. Carpenter was born July 29th, 1849, at Beloit, 
Wisconsin. 



350 Evannville and its Men of Mark. 

Addie Carpenter was born Oct. 4th, 1851, at Beloit, Wis- 
consin. 

Cornelia Carpenter was born Aug. 23d, 1853, at Beloit, 
Wisconsin. 

Mary A. was married to Alonzo A. Green, Oct., 1861. 

CHILDREN. 

Lulu Green, born July 10th, 1863. 
Florence Green, born June 24th, 1866. 

Jas. M. Carpenter married Hattie G. Root, at Mohawk, 
N. Y., Oct. 6th, 1864. 

Hattie G. Root died at Beloit, Aug. 27th, 1865. 

Married to Louisa Ingle, at Evansville, Ind., Dec. 23d, 1870. 

CHILDREN. 

Alvin B. Carpenter was born Dec. 23d, 1871. 
Ingle Carpenter was born April 17th, 1872. 

Annie B. Carpenter was married to J. R. Lawrence, at 
Beloit. Aug. 9th, 1871. 

CHILDREN. 

Jessie C. Lawrence was born Feb. 23d, 1873. 




^"^ft^ Journal Building. 




The Evansville Journal. 



HERE is no single interest which so completely repre- 
sents the growth and prosperity of a community, as 
that of the Press. Indeed, the newspaper is emphatically the 
record of that growth. Its columns contain the history of every 
week and day — of individuals, organizations, corporations, and 
every thing originated for advancing, or calculated to retard, 
the prosperity of the community which it represents. Not 
only is it the record of events as they transpire, but it is also 
the exponent of public opinion at the time it is published, and 
in this particular is more valuable and reliable than books 
which simply echo the opinions of their authors. In this view 
of the case, a brief sketch of the Evansville Journal may 
very appropriately take its place in a book entitled "Evansville 
and its Men of Mark." 

The first paper published in the then town of Evansville 
was called the Evansville Gazette. A copy of this paper, dated 
September 4, 1824, indicates that it was started some time 
during the month of August in the year 1821. The proprietors 
were General Harrison and William Monroe under the firm 
name of Harrison & Monroe. Gen. Harrison was, at the time, 
a member of the State Senate, representing a Senatorial district 
composed of the Counties of Posey, VaDderburgh and Warrick. 
William Monroe was a practical printer, having learned his 
trade in Chillicothe, Ohio. The Gazette of September 4, 1824, 
was published exclusively by William Monroe, indicating that 
Gen. Harrison did not remain a member of the firm any great 
length of time. Old settlers speak of him as a self-made man 
of remarkable ability and energy. He never went to school a 
day in his life, yet his editorials were noted for their force 
as well as their clearness and mildness. William Monroe seems 
to have been less of a writer. His paper, judging from the 



352 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

samples which have been preserved, was mainly made up of 
selections from other papers, in addition to which were added 
the laws of the United States, of which its proprietor was the 
authorized printer. During the latter part of the year 1824, or 
early in 1825, the Gazette suspended publication, and for a 
number of years Evansville was without any paper whatever. 
Mr. Monroe afterwards went south and was murdered near 
Lake Washington. 

The successor to the Gazette, as nearly as can be ascer- 
tained from the recollections of the oldest citizens, was started 
by William Town who was, for several years, and until his 
death, its editor and manager. He gave his paper the name of 
Evansville Journal, under which name it has been con- 
tinuously published to the present time. He began the publi- 
cation, as nearly as can be ascertained from old files, about the 
first of November, 1833. During Mr. Town's management of 
the Journal the Wabash and Erie Canal was projected and 
constructed. It need hardly be said that, true to the Genius 
of Progress and Improvement, the Journal advocated this 
great improvement with marked zeal and ability, as it did 
every other enterprise which seemed to promise well for the 
future development and growth ot the city. 

Politically, the Journal advocated the principles endorsed 
by the Whig Party, of which it was one of the most influential 
exponents in the State. Mr. Town was a man of mark and 
impressed his views and opinions upon the people to such an 
extent as to give shape to many of the public enterprises of the 
day. 

In the spring of 1839, the Journal passed into the hands 
of W H. & J. J. Chandler. At the time these gentlemen 
bought the office it was known as the Evansville Journal 
and Vanderburgh Advertiser, arising from some combina- 
tion as to the nature of which the writer of this sketch is not 
familiar. Fiom tlie time the Chandler brothers took possession 
of the Journal it seemed to have new life breathed into it, 
and it became a powerful exponent of public sentiment and 
political opinion. Its editors and proprietors — sketches ot 
whom will be found in this volume — were men of pluck, decided 
in their opinions and bold in their enunciation. John J. was 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 353 

one of the most acute thinkers and shrewd managers of his day, 
and the editorials of the Journal at that time evince this fact 
most clearly. The typography of the paper was unusually 
good, showing that it was under the direction of a skillful 
mechanic and a workman of taste. The paper was an enthu- 
siastic supporter of Gen. Harrison's election in 1840, as it was 
of John Adams in 1836. In 1840 it was also an advocate of one 
Presidential Term, in this particular forestalling by thirty-two 
years the advocates of that measure in 1872. John J. Chand- 
ler only remained in the firm seventeen months, when he 
retired and the sole management devolved upon his brother, 
William H. In 1846, the latter started the Tri-Weekly 
Journal, and in 1848 commenced the Daily, since when it has 
been continuously published in Daily, Tri-Weekly and Weekly 
editions. Mr. Chandler is yet a citizen of Evansville, and 
though for many years he has been an intense sufferer, he still 
displays those qualities of mind which made his paper success- 
ful while under his control. 

In the year 1848. the Journal passed into the hands of 
Gen. Add. H. Sanders, or, as he was more familiarly known, 
Add. Sanders. The latter possessed nearly all the qualifica- 
tions that go to make up an expert journalist. His editorials 
were sparkling and pungent — never verbose, Small in stature, 
but active and vigilant in thought and movement, he gave to 
the paper a spirit and dash that attracted very general attention 
throughout the entire section of country. With the instinct 
of an expert paragraphist he early saw the importance of the 
city department in a daily paper, and to that he gave a great 
deal of his personal attention. Naturally witty and abounding 
in humor, he gave to his local paragraphs a flavor which made 
them attractive even to those who were some times the sub- 
jects of comments, and the objects of his satire and ridicule. 
During Gen. Sanders' management the Journal was an in- 
fluential and consistent advocate of the policy of the Whig 
party while that party had an organized existence. After the dis- 
astrous campaign of 1852, and the party had virtually disbanded, 
the Journal still maintained its opposition to the Democratic 
party, and lost no opportunity to strike a blow at that organi- 
zation. In 1854, it joined in the celebrated and evanescent 
45 



354 Evamville and its Men of Mark. 

Know Nothing movement, which swept over the country like 
a political whirlwind, for the time prostrating everything in its 
course. In 1856, the Journal supported Millard Fillmore for 
President, as the representative of the American party, and in 
September of that year, while the political contest was fiercest, 
Gen. Sanders disposed of the establishment to Mr. F. Y. Carlile, 
of Cannelton. 

Mr. Carlile was a peculiar as well as an extraordinary 
man. Raised in Connecticut, he possessed many of the quali- 
ties for which the people of that state have always been noted. 
Cool and calculating — never off his guard — far reaching in his 
thought and subtle in his operations, he passed among his 
acquaintances as a profound thinker and scholar of fine scientific 
attainments. He wielded a ready as well as a graceful pen, and 
possessed a fund of keen, biting sarcasm rarely tuund even in 
the most accomplished politicians and scholars of the day. 
Under Carlile's management the Journal continued to support 
the American candidate lor President, who was notwithstand- 
ing severely beaten in the city, county and state. But while 
the Journal seemed to lose political influence, this deficiency 
was more than made good by the high position it attained in 
discussing scientific, manufacturing and financial questions. In 
these departments its editorials were freely copied and highly 
commended. 

In the Spring of 1858, Mr. Carlile, disgusted by the trouble 
• he was having in the management of the details of his office, 
opened a correspondence with some of the leading publishers 
of the State, for the purpose of obtaining one or more partners 
who were practical printers. At the suggestion of John D. 
Defrees, then proprietor of the Indianapolis Journal, 
F. M. Thayer and John H. McNeely, graduates in the office of 
Mr. Defrees, purchased a two-thirds interest in the Journal, 
and assumed control of its financial and mechanical manage- 
ment, Mr. Carlile remaining as editor. The new partners took 
their places in April, 1858. 

At that time the Journal office was located in the second 
and third stories of the old Lewis building, corner of Main and 
Water Streets. The paper and all the job work was printed on 
two hand presses. The assortment of type was what printers 



Evan&vllle and its Men of Mark. 355 

would call only fair for a country office. The weekly bills for 
labor, including compositors, pressman and foreman, were about 
sixty dollars. The new proprietors at once set to work to place 
the office more in accordance with the spirit of the age and the 
growing importance of the city. A steam engine and power 
press and a job press, with a good assortment of job type, were 
purchased, and the office placed on a footing that would com- 
pare favorably with offices in cities of equal or even greater 
importance. Before they had fully consummated their plans, 
which included the purchase of steam newspaper and job presses, 
and new fonts of type, the office was consumed by fire which 
was communicated from an adjoining building. This was a 
severe blow, but nothing daunted, the new proprietors immedi- 
ately took steps to repair their loss, and so energetically did 
they carry out their plans that the Journal was suspended for 
only a single day, and in a couple of weeks the paper appeared 
in an entire new dress, and was pronounced by competent critics 
to be one of the handsomest in the State. In addition to his 
duties as business manager of the office, Mr. Thayer became 
associated in the editorial department, and gradually took upon 
himself much of its labor, besides coppying the dispatches, 
which were then received on paper and read by the operator to 
the copyist. In the fall of 1858, the proprietors purchased the 
lot on which the present Journal building stands. It was at 
that time occupied by a two story frame building, fifty feet deep, 
with a basement which was fitted up for a press room. This 
building was regarded at the time as furnishing ample accom- 
modations for many years to come. In the fall of 1859, owing 
to disagreements with his partners — political and otherwise — 
Mr. Carlile sold his interest to Mr. James H. McNeely of In- 
dianapolis, who became associated with F. M. Thayer in the 
editorial management of the paper, and one-third partner in the 
profits of the concern. 

Up to this time the Journal had been 'classified, politic- 
ally, as an opposition paper. It advocated the election of Gen. 
Hovey in 1858, on what was known as the Anti-Nebraska issue. 
It had given the Eepublican Party no aid and comfort what- 
ever, its editor, Mr. Oarlile, preferring the Democratic Party 
as what he termed the choice of two evils. But with the retire- 



356 Evarwirille and its Men of Mark, 

ment of Mr. Carlile the new proprietors, who were, individually, 
Republicans in 1856, determined on joining the fortunes of the 
Journal to that new and rising political organization. Accord- 
ingly, when Abraham Lincoln was nominated at Chicago, the 
Journal, against the advice of many of its oldest and firmest 
friends, announced its intention to advocate his election. So 
adverse was public sentiment to anything that savored of 
sectionalism at that time, and so thorough the conviction of 
many of its old Whig friends that the Republican Party was 
sectional in its objects and aims, that the undertaking seemed 
hazardous, and was not fully determined on without some mis- 
givings. But believing they were right in standing true to 
political convictions, the young proprietors unfurled the banner 
of Republicanism from the mast-head of their paper, and sailed 
into the memorable contest of 1860 with all the zeal and deter- 
mination of young soldiers embarked in a holy cause. The 
details of that struggle need not be repeated. Suffice it to say, 
that the Journal achieved a most signal triumph in having 
the vote of Vanderburgh County recorded in favor of its 
candidates. 

Shortly after Mr. Lincoln's inauguration, Mr. James H. 
McNeely was appointed Postmaster, and thenceforth devoted 
all his attention to that office, leaving the editorial manage- 
ment of the Journal in the hands of Mr. Thayer, where it has 
mainly rested ever since. During the war the Journal was 
unflinching and unflagging in its support of the government. 
For its fidelity in this particular, it incurred the bitter hostility 
of a large Kentucky element, and for several years was abso- 
lutely denied any circulation in that State. The office was 
repeatedly threatened, and efforts to intimidate its proprietors 
were frequent but of no avail. The paper was true to the 
Country, and the proprietors had the gratification of being 
heartily endorsed by the people among whom it circulated. 

In 1864, it supported Mr. Lincoln for re-election, and was 
one of the first papers in the country to suggest the name 
of Andrew Johnson for Vice-President. Yet, when the latter 
abandoned his party, the Journal was among the first to 
denounce him. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 357 

In the Spring of 1865, the Company erected one section of 
their present commodious building. It was a three story brick, 
fifty feet deep. In July, 1866, Col. John W. Foster bought the 
one-third interest of Mr. James H. McNeely, and became con- 
nected with the paper as one of its editors and proprietors. In 
January, 1867, Mr. Edward Tabor, who had for years been 
connected with the office as book-keeper, was admitted as a 
partner, taking the position of business manager. In Novem- 
ber, 1867, the present commodious building was finished and 
occupied. In 1868, Col. Foster was appointed Postmaster by 
General Grant, and assumed the duties connected with that 
position, the editorial management remaining in the hands of 
Mr. Thayer. In November, 1872, Col. Foster disposed of his 
interest in the office to Claude G. DeBruler, Esq., at the time 
one of the editorial writers on the Cincinnati Times and Chron- 
icle. Mr. DeBruler at once became one of the editors of the 
Journal, and is at present filling that position. 

The Evansville Journal establishment at the present 
time, is one of the largest and best arranged offices in the 
country, comprising, as it does, all the departments of job and 
book printing and binding, each complete in itself. Under the 
efficient management of Mr. John S. McNeely, who has had 
charge of the mechanical department since April, 1858, it has 
gained a reputation for elegant work second to no establishment 
in the West. 

The paper, in its several departments and editions, has an 
editorial force of five workers. In addition to the proprietors 
and principal editors, its railroad and river departments are 
conducted by Col. J. N. Silverthorn, a veteran newspaper 
writer, who has most faithfully and skillfully served the 
Journal since 1862, when he first became connected with the 
paper. Its city department is well sustained by Mr. Frank J. 
Byan, formerly of Chicago, and its telegraph and news depart- 
ments are at present in charge of Mr. Feldwisch, a young but 
promising journalist from Cincinnati. 

In addition to this editorial force, the Journal has a most 
extensive and interesting correspondence, foreign and domestic. 
Possessing these advantages it is not strange that it occupies a 
most influential position, not only on the Lower Ohio, but 



358 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

throughout the State and West as well. The people of Evans- 
ville point to it with pride as an exponent of their enterprise, 
intelligence and thrift, and it is accorded a cheerful welcome 
into every household. 




William Johnson Lowry. 



ISLTHOUG-H a comparatively small portion of a long 
and active life was spent in Evansville, William J, 
Lowry is justly entitled, from his high character and services, 
to a prominent place in the list of its men of mark. 

He was one of the Pioneers of the West, and his life west 
of the Alleghanies dates from the beginning of the century. 
A worthy member of that hardy band, now so rapidly dis- 
appearing, whose muscle, brain, and daring spirit subdued the 
forests, opened broad farms and laid the foundations of great 
cities, Mr. Lowry was permitted to live long among the scenes 
of his early toils and hardships, and witness, before he closed 
his eyes, the vast changes of half a century. 

He was born in Ann Arundel County, Maryland, on the 
15th of October, 1795. While yet a mere child, his paients 
having heard of the fertile regions west of the Alleghanies, 
emigrated to Ohio and settled at Portsmouth. Here he re- 
mained w-ith his father until 1812. Life at that early time 
seems to have been more real than it is now. Divested of con- 
ventionalities, and going back to first principles, it developed 
courage, energy, self-reliance and the manly qualities at an age 
earlier than can be attained by our present civilization. Al- 
though but seventeen years old, young Lowry boldly left his 
father's house and began for himself the struggle of life. He 
went to Cincinnati and entered the employ of a merchant there, 
but continued only a few months. His young, ardent tempera- 
ment demanded a more enterprising pursuit, calling for more 
activity, and he entered the river trade. Unfortunately, for 
the next few years, the records of his life are meager. Quiet 




WM. J. LOWRY. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 359 

and unostentatious as lie ever was in spirit, his enterprise and 
activity was a matter of course, and nothing was further 
from his thought than preserving material for a biographer. 
For the next eight years we must rely upon scanty traditions, 
preserved in the family, for any knowledge of his life, and yet 
it is known that in the eight years between 1812 and 1820, he 
followed the river for a portion of the time, and twice performed 
the venturous and hazardous feat of walking the whole distance 
from New Orleans to Louisville through what was then 
known as the Indian country; that he was, during this time, 
employed by the Government to assist in surveys of public 
lands in Alabama, Florida and Missouri ; and singular to say, 
so quiet was he in reference to his own history, and so careless 
of the records referring to it, that, while it is known, that he 
served in the second war with Great Britain, first as Adjutant 
and afterward attained the rank of Major before he was twenty 
years old, the number of his regiment even is not known, nor 
in what engagements he participated. 

In 1819, his father's family removed to Posey County, Ind., 
and settled near Springfield, the then county seat. In the fol- 
lowing year Mr. Lowry joined them, and for the eight succeeding 
years lived in and about Springfield. He was engaged in farming 
and trading, and with success, manifesting the same energy, 
sagacity and high probity, which afterwards distinguished him 
in his business career. In the year 1823 he married Miss Sarah 
Nettelton, also of Springfield. This was a peculiarly felicitous 
union, his wife possessing as strongly marked character as his 
own, being well fitted to assist him in the battle of life, and 
qualified to adorn the social position they afterwards attained. 

In 1828, he removed from Springfield to Mt. Vernon, and 
exchanged agricultural for mercantile pursuits. He achieved 
success, and soon gathered around him hosts of friends by his 
uniform integrity and uprightness. Mrs. Lowry 's brother, 
N. G. Nettelton, who had been engaged for some years in a 
prosperous business in New Harmony, Posey County, removed 
to Cincinnati and engaged in banking. Mr. Lowry removed 
to Cincinnati in 1855. The firm of Nettelton & Lowry did a 
profitable business and gained an enviable fame for the high 
standard of business honor it maintained in all its transac- 



360 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

tions. The life of a silent man who avoids speculations, 
and whose days are spent in the counting house, affords 
few salient points for the biographer. Not uneventful, for 
character is formed and matured and destinies are shaped 
there, but the events of such a life are not noted and remem- 
bered outside the domestic circles, and would be of little inter- 
est to the public. 

In 1861, Mr. Lowry removed with his family to Evans- 
ville, and since that time until his death his home has been here 
and his interests identified with our city. For three years 
afterward he was President of the Bank at Mt. Vernon and its 
Business Superintendent, but in 1864 he severed his connection 
with Mt. Vernon, and since that time his business relations have 
all centered in Evansville. 

In the autumn of 1872, while on a visit to his friends in 
Posey County, he received an. injury from a fall. Up to this 
time, though in his 77th year, his great vitality and strength of 
constitution had given him remarkable health and vigor. He 
attended to his business as closely and seemed as capable of the 
necessary labor as much younger men. But after his accident, 
it became painfully apparent to his friends that his robust con- 
stitution was gradually giving way. His step, as he passed to and 
fro, became slower and more feeble. Still, tor such a life as his, 
there was no thought of rest. He could not brook the thought 
of inaction while work was possible, and so, until within a few 
days of the end, the sturdy spirit refused to yield, and the man 
of business was lound in his place. On the 22nd ol February, 
almost before the community had missed him from the bank or 
the street, William J. Lowry had quietly and peacefully breathed 
his last, in the bosom of his family. It was a fit ending for 
such a life : " Oeasiug at once to labor and to live." 

Mr. Lowry, as the founder and President of the Evansville 
National Bank and the senior member of the well known firm 
of W. J. Lowry & Co., occupied a high position in Evansville 
business circles. Others have been more prominently before 
the public and their names are perhaps wider known, but few 
have achieved a more solid, enduring or enviable reputation 
than he. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 361 

In his social relations he was universally respected, and by 
his more intimate friends who knew him best, sincerely loved* 
Reticent by nature and closely immersed in business, he had 
neither the time nor inclination to enter largely into social life* 
When released from the cares of business, he cared more for the 
domestic circle and the comforts of home, than the demands of 
society. He had the advantages of a liberal education. He 
also had keen perceptions, shrewd business sense and high 
principles which fitted him to fill any position to which he 
might aspire. Prudently careful of his own interests, he 
was yet economical without being miserly, and charitable with- 
out being injudiciously or excessively indulgent. Remembering 
his own early struggles, he was always ready to interest him- 
self in the welfare of the deserving, and his practical wisdom 
enabled him to become the adviser and helper of a number of 
young men who owe their prospects in life to his judicious 
counsel and aid. 

While striving as a business man in honorable competition 
for the wealth of this world, Mr, Lowry was not unmindful of 
the riches of the nest. For forty-three years of his life, he was 
a faithful and consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal 
Church. Quiet and unostentatious in his church as in all other 
relations, Mr. Lowry was yet a valuable and efficient worker in 
the church, and was always ready with his personal influence 
and ample means to cheerfully co-operate in any scheme for the 
promotion of the moral and religious interests of the community. 
The moral influence of such a life is incalculable, and it fur- 
nishes a valuable example to young men as illustrating how the 
closest devotion to business is yet not inconsistent with the 
deepest piety and most fervent christian spirit. Amid all the 
pressing engagements of his active life, he never failed in the 
conscientious, punctual performance of his religious duties, He 
died as he had lived, in the clear hope of immortality through 
Jesus Christ. 

As a testimony of the high esteem in which Mr. Lowry 
was held by his business associates, we subjoin the resolutions 
of respect passed by the Board of Directors of the German 
National Bank, at a meeting held the day of his death, after 
the fact was made known ; 
46 



362 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

Whereas, In the death of Mr. Lowry this Board has not 
only sustained the loss of an associate, whose long experience in 
business would have been useful to the future of this bank, just 
entering upon its new field of duty and usefulness to the public, 
but they deplore the loss of a generous friend, a good citizen, 
and a true man. who filled all the relations of life with faithful- 
ness, and honored every position in which he was placed : 
Therefore, 

Resolved, That this Board record their testimony of their 
appreciation of his worth while living, and of his loss when 
dead ; and desire to tender to hie sorrowing family their earnest 
sympathy in this their great bereavement. 

Resolved, That the President communicate to the family 
this expression of respect and esteem for him who was so near 
to them in life, and whose decease they now deplore. 

Resolved, That, as a last tribute of respect to the deceased, 
this Board, as a body, will attend his funeral. 

Resolved, That the foregoing preamble and resolutions be 
published in the city papers. 

Samuel Orr, President. 

Phil. 0. Decker, Cashier. 

This was the testimony of the men who had been most 
closely connected with him, and their testimony was most cor- ' 
dially echoed by the community. 

His excellent wife who had been his efficient helpmate ; 
who had shared with him the toils, and enjoyed with him the 
prosperity of a long and useful life, did not long survive him. 
A fervent Christian, she did not murmur at the blow which 
deprived her of her protector and friend, but lived on in the 
firm faith of an early reunion. This expectation was not long 
delayed. On the 21st of September, but a little more than half 
a year afte* the death of her husband, Mrs. Sarah Lowry 
peacefully passed away to rejoin him in that Land where sepa- 
ration and bereavement are not known. 



The Courier. 



ITS HISTORY, AND A MENTION OF OTHER DEMOCRATIC PAPERS 
PUBLISHED IN THIS CITY. 



ill tN attempting to give a succinct account of the establish- 
ment of The Courier, and the vicissitudes it encoun- 
tered in its early career, there is involved a good deal apper- 
taining to efforts previously made to establish a Democratic 
newspaper in Evansville, all of which resulted in failure. The 
Courier is the only paper advocating the principles ot the 
Democratic party, which has obtained an enduring support in 
this city, and it is now secure upon a basis that enables it not 
only to live but to flourish without peradventure, its history, 
following in the footsteps of its Democratic progenitors, may not 
be uninteresting ; and it becomes our pleasing task to write up 
the record, which we will do, as best as we can, from the 
imperfect material now at our command, 

The first Democratic newspaper ever published in Evans- 
ville was the South Western Sentinel, edited and published by 
Jacob Page Chapman, who was afterwards one of the proprie- 
tors, and for many years the managing editor of the Indianapo- 
lis Sentinel. The paper was started in 1839, continued during 
the Hard Cider aud Log Cabin Campaign of 1840, and went out 
of existence with the overwhelming defeat of Martin Van Buren 
in the latter year. For about seven years the Democrats of 
Evansville had no representative "organ," as party newspapers 
are sometimes called. In the Winter of 1847-8, Mr. H. C. Hunt- 
ington began the publication of the Vanderbui gh Democrat, 
which lived about four years before it succumbed to a press of 
circumstances calculated to break down an enterprise which 
was yet an experiment. In its early career, the Democrat was 
a vigorous and influential newspaper, and it obtained a wide- 



364 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

spread weekly circulation, which has probably not been excelled 
by any of its successors, in the weekly issue, down to the present 
time. But in 1850, in consequence of local divisions between 
political leaders, the Democrat lost its prestige and the next 
year ceased to live. Before it expired, Ben. Stinson, Esq., well 
known to most of our citizens, began the publication of the 
Evansville Advertiser, which was the first daily Democratic 
newspaper ever published in this city, The editorial depart- 
ment was managed by Col. C. W. Hutchen, one of the most vig- 
orous political writers in the Western country. After a short 
experience, Mr. Stinson sold his office to Col. C. K. Drew, Sr., 
and Calvin Frary, who changed the name of the paper to the 
Evansville Republican, and in turn transferred the office 
to Messrs Clark & McDonald, who continued the publication 
of the Republican about one year. They sold out to William 
B. Baker, of the Terre Haute Journal, under whose auspices the 
paper died, in the summer of i851, leaving the Democracy of 
Evansville without a local organ. 

In the Presidental Canvass of 1852. an effort was made to 
revive the paper, and Mr. Charles P. Baymiller, from Madison, 
assisted by a Mr, J. W. Brewer, commenced the publication of 
a tri-weekly sheet called the Times, which was managed with 
some spirit until the election was over, when it ceased publica- 
tion for the want of support. 

In the spring of 1853, Capt. John B, Hall, came to Evans- 
ville from Lawrenceburgh, and purchased the office of the 
Independent Pocket, a neutral paper, began the publication of 
the Evansville Daily Enquirer, and continued it about six years. 
Col. Charles Denby, was the first political editor of the paper 
and conducted it during the stormy scenes of the know-nothing 
reign in 1852. Under his management the fame of the paper 
extended throughout the whole nation. The editorials were 
able, determined, startling and crushing, and the paper not only 
received the emphatic endorsement of all who tvere opposed to 
the plottings of the Midnight Cabal, but the conspirators them- 
selves learned to fear its utterances as being fatal to the accom- 
plishment of their schemes. As a writer Col. Denby was chaste, 
forcible and scholarly, and his productions commanded the re- 
spect of his most malignant and violent political adversaries. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 365 

He returned from the tripod to enter upon the profession of the 
law; greatly to the regret of all men who desired to see a Dem- 
ocratic paper firmly established in Evansville, He is now one 
of the greatest lawyers in Indiana. 

In the early part of 1859, Capt. Hall disposed of the 
Enquirer to A. T. Whittlesey, Esq,, who conducted the paper 
about one year, and sold out to the late Capt. Nathan Willard 
and S. S, Whitehead, of Illinois. On the breaking out of the 
great rebellion in the spring of 1861, Capt. Willard went into 
the union service, and the newspaper suspended publication. 
It was never afterwards resumed. Again the Democrats were 
left without an organ. Mr. John H, Scott published a small 
weekly paper during the summer of 1862, called the Gazette, 
but it abandoned the political field after a short time and was 
conducted for a year or two, first as an independent newspaper, 
and afterwards as an advertising sheet. 

The political campaign of 1862, resulted in a complete 
Democratic success in Vanderburgh County, and, before another 
General Election came on, tbe leaders of the party were encour- 
aged to commence the publication of a daily newspaper, devoted 
to the principles upon which the victory at the October election 
in 1872 had been obtained. To this end a subscription of about 
four thousand dollars was raised, the office of the Evansville 
VolTcsblat, a German Eepublican Paper, purchased, and the 
services of the lamented Robert S. Sproule procured to condcct 
a newspaper that would at once be a party organ and a reflex 
of the rapidly developing greatness of Evansville. Mr. Sproule 
brought to his assistance a perfect knowledge of Indiana men, 
a good acquaintance of the political history of the State and 
a thorough conversation with the feelings of the Democracy in 
every State of the Union. He had the assistance of Ben. 
Stinson, Esq., an excellent business manager, and of Mr. J. B. 
Maynard, a finished newspaper contributor, but their united 
efforts could not make the new Evansville Times a success. 
Following the election of 1864, like its prototype of a dozen 
years before, it suddenly demised, leaving the Democracy with a 
printing office, but no newspaper. The following Winter, George 
W. Shanklin, Esq., took hold of the office and for a few weeks 
carried on a sprightly little sheet called the Evansville Dispatch. 



366 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

The venture was not a success, financially, and the paper made 
its last appeaeance dressed in mourning for the martyred Lin- 
coln, the very day the citizens of Evansville turned out in pro- 
cession to pay fitting tribute and respect to the death of the 
President. 

We arrive now at the time when the Evansville Daily 
and Weekly Courier sprang into existence. The printing 
office was, in effect, capital held by five trustees for the benefit 
of the subscribers to the fund, out of which the material was 
purchased. The trustees were Hon. John A. Reitz, Judge 
William F. Parrett, Hon. Thomas E. Garvin, Col. Charles Denby 
and the late Richard Raleigh, Esq. These gentlemen were em- 
powered to make any disposition of the presses and meterial 
that would secure the establishment of a Democratic newspaper 
in Evansville. While matters were in thit shape, a visit was 
made to Evansville by Alfred S. Kierolf, William M. Holeman, 
J. B. Cavins and H. H. Homes, four practical printers, who 
proposed to start a Democratic paper in the city that was es- 
teemed to be the future commercial metropolis of Indiana. At 
the start the gentlemen did not receive encouragement. They 
were strangers, and sought to do, in a strange land, that which 
old residents had failed to accomplish But they persisted, 
and finally overcame all opposition. Tney were permitted to 
commence the publication of a newspaper, and so faithfully did 
they fulfil all the conditions of their enterprise that they became 
in a little time the owners of the old Times establishment. 
On the 7th day ot January, 1865, the Courier made its debut 
in Evansville, with Alfred S. Kieroli as managing editor, Mr. 
Cavins, local editor, and Mr. Thomas Collins, now editor and 
publisher of the Mt. Vernon Democrat, as foreman of the 
news room. 

It was an auspicious day for the men who had struggled 
long and faithfully to give to the Democracy of Evansville a 
mouthpiece that would speak no uncertain sound, when the 
Courier first appealed for support to the people of Evansville. 
The paper enunciated its principles without fear or trembling, 
and although it has gone through many changes, the oldest and 
staunchest friends are among those who rejoice in its prosperity, 
and look back to their subscriptions that gave it birth, as bread 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 367 

cast upon the waters that will return to give them encourage- 
ment in their efforts to maintain good government in this sadly 
mismanaged land, after many — very many — days. 

Mr. Homes retired from the Courier very early in its 
career. Early iD the Winter of 1866, Mr. Gavins disposed of 
his interest to Mr. S. R. Matthews, then the senior partner of 
Matthews & Fullerton, dealers in wooden and willow ware, 
kitchen and pantry goods, in this city. Mr. Matthews contin- 
ued but a little time as a partner, when failing health induced 
him to sell out his interest and return to his old home in Ken- 
tucky, where he died. Messrs. Kierolf and Holeman continued 
the paper, and formed a partnership with Mr. Albert C. Isaacs, 
now of the firm of Healy & Isaacs, the next Spring. Mr. Isaacs 
soon withdrew, and was speedily followed by Mr. Kierolf, the 
editor, leaving Mr. Holeman the sole proprietor, 

When Mr. Holeman found himself the sole proprietor of 
the Courier, he entered into a contract with Robert S. Sproule 
to manage the editorial columns. That gentleman entered 
upon his duties with his accustomed energy, and during his 
control revived the spirit of its inception, and gave the friends 
of the paper a promise of a brilliant publication. Unfortu- 
nately, the establishment had contracted pecuniary obligations 
which forbid its further production without another change, and 
Mr. Holeman made a sale of the concern to George. W. Shanklin, 
Esq., who had the means at his disposal to lift the enterprise 
above the fear of Sheriff's executions. 

When Mr. Shanklin became the purchaser, a strong effort 
was made to induce the retention of Mr. Sproule as political 
manager. But the new proprietor had already made arrange- 
ments with Mr. W. T. Pickett, of Maysville, Ky., to do the edi- 
torial work, and Mr. Sproule was compelled to retire. 
Mr. Picket was no unworthy successor. He was a fluent writer, 
a genial gentleman, and closely devoted to the editorial profes- 
sion. During his control, Mr. John Gilbert Shanklin returned 
home from Europe, where he had passed three years as a student, 
and became associated in the management of the paper. 

About the time that the Evansville limes was started in 
1864, by means of subscription, the Evansville Dernokrat, the 
excellent German paper still bearing that name, was begUD in 



368 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

the same way. Peter Maier, Esq , was its first editor and pub- 
lisher. He disposed of his right to Peter Gfroerer, Esq., who, 
in turn, sold to Dr. Charles Lauenstein, and he associated his 
brother, Mr. Fred. Lauenstein, with him in the publication. In 
March, 1869, the Lauensteins purchased the Courier from 
Mr. George W. Shanklin, and became the proprietors of both 
papers. Under their management the Courier has become 
valuable property and has been rapidly amassing wealth. The 
best evidence of this is to be found in the fact that they paid 
$6,000 for the Courier and sold it for $18,000, to the present 
proprietors, after an ownership of less than five years. 

After the Lauensteins had become the purchasers of the 
Courier, they looked around for an experienced editor take the 
management of its columns. They first endeavored to enter 
into an engagement with E S. Sproule, but did not succeed. 
They were next induced to offer the position to Mr. A. T. Whit- 
tlesey, who was then about to retire from the Evansvjlle Post 
Office, where he had served the public for two years. Mr. Whit- 
tlesey took control of the columns of the Courier in the latter 
part of M*y, 1869, and continued in the management until the 
middle of October, 1872. How well he succeeded as an editor, 
need not be told the readers of this paper. Perhaps at no time 
in its career was the paper so extensively quoted as authority 
by other publishers, and his editorials, preserved for future use, 
stand as the vindications of his judgment and the positive char- 
acter of bis mind. A disagreement with the proprietors upon 
a question of policy severed his connection with the paper. He 
is now a resident of Indianapolis, acting as Secretary for 
Governor Hendricks. 

On the first of October, 1873, Messrs. S. D. Terry & Co., 
became owners and managers of the Courier, the newspaper, 
and German and English job office. The terms of the purchase 
have been stated. 

The course of the Courier has been marked out in 
the trenchant editorials that have already graced its columns. 
All our citizens seem disposed to treat it with the utmost 
respect. 




Elisha Embree. 



^ISHA EMBEEE was the son of Joshua and Elizabeth 
^Embree, and was born in Lincoln Co., Kentucky, on the 
28th of September, 1701. When he was a small child his par- 
ents removed to the southern part of Kentucky, and in 1811 
they, removed to Indiana; and settled upon Marsh Creek in 
Gibson County, about three miles south-west of the site of the 
town of Princeton. About a year after their arrival in Indiana, 
the father died, leaving a widow and six children. The subject 
of this sketch while a boy and young man, worked as a farm 
laborer during the summer, thus earning sufficient to enable 
him to attend school in the winter. In this manner, and by 
means of diligent private study, he acquired what would be 
deemed a good english education. His chosen profession was 
that of the law, the practice of which he commenced in 1825. 
In 1827, he was married to Eleanor Robb, eldest daughter of 
Major David Robb, one of the pioneers of Gibson County, who 
in 1800, settled on White River near where the Town of Hazle- 
ton now stands, In 1833 he was elected to the Indiana Senate, 
defeating the Hon. George H. Proffit, and while serving in that 
body, he, almost alone, opposed the Internal Improvement 
Legislation of that period, which has since borne such evil fruit. 
In 1835 he was elected Judge of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of 
Indiana, to fill the vacancy caused in that office by the resigna- 
tion of the Hon. Samuel Hall, and in 1838 he was re-elected 
for a full term, miking in all tea years that he occupied that 
position. In 1847 he was elected to Congress from the 
Fourth District of Indiana, his competitor in the contest 
being the Hon. Robert Dale Owen. He served in this ca- 
pacity for a period of two years, and according to the statement 
of Horace Greeley, in his Recollections of a Busy Life, he was 
47 



370 Mvansville and Us Men of Mark. 

the originator of the proposition to abolish the Congressional 
Mileage. In 1849 he was again a candidate for Congress, and 
was deteated by the Hon. Nathainel Albertson. 

He was a Whig while the Whig Party existed, and during 
the remainder of his life he was a Republican in Politics. From 
the time of his marriage, so long as he lived, his home was at 
Princeton, Indiana, and here on the 28th of Feburary, 1863, he 
died during one of the darkest periods of this country's history. 
He died in full faith of a glorious immortality, and also with a 
firm belief that the bloody contest then being waged in our 
land would result in the triumph of Universal Liberty. 
As a lover of his Country he showed his faith by his works. 
His house was an asylum for the sick soldier. Much of his 
time during the last years of his life was spent with his sons in 
the Union Army, where he gave much needed assistance and 
care to the sick and wounded soldiers. It is supposed that his 
labors and exposure during this period shortened his life. In 
1837 he joined the M. E. Church, of which be remained a con- 
sistent and active member until his death. He was the father 
of six children, two of whom died in infancy, and one, James T. 
Embree, who was Lieutenant Colonel of the 58th Indiana Reg- 
iment, died in 1867. His other children and his widow, Mrs. 
Eleanor Embree, are still living, and reside at Princeton, 
Indiana. 

Of his qualities as a Lawyer, Judge, Legislator, Man and 
Christian, his cotemporaries, many of whom still live, can bear 
witness. He was a man of plain and simple habits, and disliked 
anything like show or parade, and would no doubt regard the 
act of one of his descendants furnishing the foregoing sketch for 
this book as a piece of unpardonable ostentation. 



Robert Owen. 



^||ji) OBERT OWEN, born in Newton, Montgomeryshire, 
^§»Pl) Wales, on the 14th day of May, 1771, was the son of 
Robert Owen and Anne Owen, of Newton, Wales. 

He was self made and self educated, while pursuing his 
occupation as salesman in London, and later as cotton spinner 
and superintendent of the mills at Manchester, England. 

He purchased, along with several partners, the N. Lanark 
Cotton Mills in Scotland, originally built by his father-in-law, 
David Dale, at one time Provost of Glasgow, Scotland. In 1797 
married Anne Caroline Dale, daughter of the above David Dale. 
They had four sons, who grew to manhood, and three daughters 
who attained maturity, besides other children, who died young. 

Robert Owen's chief aim in life was to ameliorate the con- 
dition of the working classes, for which object he erected large 
school houses and other buildings at N. Lanark, and gave lec- 
tures, which developed that population so favorably that the 
mills were much visited by strangers. He then extended his 
field by holding frequent public meetings in London, Liverpool, 
and Manchester, advocating a system of co-operation, instead of 
the competitive system among the working classes, and the 
formation of communities comprising about 1200 persons, asso- 
ciated for mutual benefit commercially, mentally and morally ; 
the buildings to occupy a quadrangular form near the centre of 
the farming property ; which should furnish the chief materials 
for consumption in the community. His followers were termed 
socialists. His views were set forth, also, in various publica- 
tions, such as the Co-operative Magazine, and the New Moral 
World, which latter he continued to edit until a short time 
before his death. He also wrote his auto-biography when 
visiting in London, toward the close of his life. 



372 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

In 1824, hearing of New Harmony, Posey County, Indiana, 
where George and Fred. Rapp, and associates, had carried on 
something of a community system of property, he purchased the 
town and about 20,000 acres of land, inviting such persons as 
desired to test the social experiment, to settle there. The in- 
vitation brought about a thousand persons, many of them dis- 
interestedly anxious to give the system a fair trial, but too 
many, unfortunately, who only desired their own aggrandize- 
ment. 

After one year of the so-called Perliminary Society, the ex- 
pense of which fell almost exclusively on Robt. Owen, the mem- 
bers resolved themselves into educational and agricultural 
communities, which were carried on about two years more. At 
the close of this period, it was found there were too many con- 
flicting interests and tastes, and there existed too much selfish- 
ness for success, at least until individuals could be trained to 
forego some individual advantages for the sake of social union ; 
hence the experiment at New Harmony was abandoned. 

Robert Owen then returned to Europe and labored until 
his death, (attending a public meeting a short time before that 
event, where he was sustained by Lord Brougham, who had 
always been one of his friends), in developing his system among 
the working classes of England. 

When in his 88th year, he found his end approaching, he 
went with a friend to his native town in Wales, where he had 
visited a few times, and dying tranquilly in the adjoining house 
to the one in which he was born, he was laid by his oldest son, 
(then on his way back to America from Naples) in the same 
grave with his father and mother. His friends and disciples 
joined in erecting a plain tablet to his memory, bearing the in- 
cription — 

ROBERT OWEN, 

THE PHILANTHROPIST. 

Born 14 May, 1771. — Died 17 November, 1858. 



The Clarion. 



^IjUjN 1846, Mr. William Kurtz, serving as County Auditor, 
^jw) feeling the necessity of a local newspaper, undertook to 
procure the establishment of one, resulting in the issue of the 
Democratic Clarion. In three months he was compelled to 
take hold himself and run the machine, or there would have 
been a collaps of the enterprise. Nothing daunted, he laid hold 
as Editor and Proprietor — mounted the tripod and run the 
paper continuously up to 1861, in the interest of the Democrat- 
ic party. When the war broke out, he hoisted the stars and 
stripes, changed its name to that of the Princeton Clarion, and 
continued to the close of the war, at which time he closed 
out the concern to the present proprietor, A. J. Calkins, Esq., 
who having fought through the war, issued it in the interests of 
the Republican party. Mr. Calkins is a practical printer of 
the first class, a good sensible editor, worthy gentleman, and 
a christian. The paper is doing well, has an increasing circu- 
lation among the members of both political parties, and is a 
very desirable medium for advertisers. 

We might here remark "for the truth of history," that the 
Clarion it not the first paper that was started in Gibson 
County, but the second. The Chronicle, published by John F. 
Burton in 1845, was the first effort, and would have succeeded 
for one year had not too many of its subscribers backed out the 
first six months by saying that they "only subscribed for the 
paper to encourage it." Its expiring efforts were heralded by 
frequent issues of half sheets, terminating at last in column 
strips of old advertisements, and finally ending in a spasmodic 
removal across the Wabash River. 



• 



The Mt. Vernon Republican 



'AS established in September, 1872, by Thomas Abbott, 
at present editor and publisher of the Harbinger \ a 
denominational sheet, now printed at St. Louis. The early 
history of the Republican is one of varying fortunes and con- 
stant struggle with impecuniosity and sterility of sense, in both 
financial and editorial management. 

In November, 1872, it passed into the control of Messrs. 
Mason & Veatch, who at once adopted vigorous measures to 
place it out ot the reach of financial reverses. Their policy 
was to make it a purely local paper, devoted to local interests, 
and such was their success, that in four weeks after taking 
charge of the paper, the subscription list was doubled, and by 
May 1st, 1873, the circulation of the Republican exceeded the 
combined circulation of the other papers ot the county. 

The policy adopted by Messrs. Mason & Veatch has been 
rigidly adhered to, and the columns of the Republican contain 
weekly letters from the different portions of the county, written 
by a carefully selected and well organized corps of correspond- 
ents. The Republican was, I believe, the first newspaper in 
the State to make a feature ol an " Educational Column." 
This column, edited by Prof. 0. J. Snoke, principal of the city 
schools, is as ably edited as any school journal in the State. 

In June, 1873, Mr. C. L. Prosser, known throughout the 
State as an able and vigorous writer, purchased the interest of 
Mr. Veatch in the office, and assumed the editorial control of 
the paper. Under the control and management of Messrs. 
Prosser & Mason, the Republican will achieve a long career of 
prosperity and influence. Its proprietors promise an enlarge- 
ment and new outfit for the first number of 1874. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 375 

ITS EDITORS. 

C. L. Prosser, cetat 40, was born in Mt. Sterling, Ky., in 
1833, but was grown in this city, his father, the late Thomas F. 
Prosser, having removed to this city in 1835. Mr. Prosser 
received his education in the city schools and from his father, 
who was a scholar of rare attainments. He early learned the 
cases in his father's printing office, the Courier, and is to-day 
the fastest compositor and the best printer in his county. His 
editorial life commenced very early, he doing all the editorial 
work on his father's paper before he was twenty years of age. 
He has been connected with the newspaper business all his life, 
the ruling passion being so strong in him, that while engaged 
in other business, he was a frequent and valued contributor to 
Forney's Press, of Philadelphia. 

Up to the commencement of the Rebellion, he had been 
identified with the Democratic party, but when the time came 
to choose, he was found on the side of the Union, fighting its 
battles in Posey County with the earnestness and vigor peculiar 
to himself, and since then he has done yeoman service for the 
Republican party. 

As a writer of editorials, he has but few superiors in 
Southern Indiana. Copious in language, never wanting for a 
word to express his idea, with a tendency to the argument ad 
hominem, the blood never fails to follow the application of his 
editorial lash. Mr. Prosser is of slight, gentlemanly appear- 
ance, very courteous in his intercourse with others, and with 
great deference, apparently, to the opinions of others, He is 
a brilliant talker, and always has something sensible to say. 
He is the man to share his last cent with a friend, or to turn 
a deaf ear to the entreaties of an enemy. Enduring in his 
friendships, he is unforgiving in his enmities. With many 
bitter euemies, he has a host of warm friends in both political 
parties, who would " go their last dollar on him." 

John Mason — better known to the fraternity, as " Rev." 
John Mason — the local editor and business manager of the 
Republican, is one whose life has been one of strange vicissi- 
tudes and stranger adventures. Born of poor but honest 



'}7fi Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

parents — I believe that is the correct phrase — at Iowa City, 
Iowa, the 14th of September, 1842, when that country was wild 
and unsettled, and the frontier of civilization, he was not 
nurtured in a tender school and is not a hot-house plant. He 
entered Cornell College, Mt. Vernon, Iowa, in 1857, and left it 
to enlist as a private soldier in the ranks of the First Iowa. 
After the expiration of three months for which he had enlisted, 
and with which he made what was known as the Wilson's Creek 
campaign, under the lamented Lyon, serving the term of his 
enlistment, he was commissioned as Captain by the Governor of 
Iowa, before becoming eighteen years of age. A difference 
with his Colonel, Crocker, afterward Major General, caused him 
to throw up his commission, and after serving for awhile as vol- 
unteer aid on the staff of a General who shortly after retired, 
he entered the gun boat service, in which he remained until 
November, 1864, when he leit it to rejoin his old regiment at 
Atlanta. He was too late, and arrived at Cairo only to find 
that Sherman had " burned his ships behind him," and left for 
Savannah, He returned to Iowa, and for a few weeks was 
quiet. But with his strong Bohemian instincts, inherited, he 
could not remain quiet, and in the Spring of 1865, went to 
Mexico, where he remained about twenty months, and from 
where he returned, in common parlance, " busted." 

Since that time, he has been newspaper correspondent, 
Press Agent for' circus, school teacher and a dabbler in politics, 
and has at last settled down to his present business, at which 
he proposes to remain, with occasional intervals of travel, when 
he will combine business and rest from the ordinary duties of 
newspaper life. He is at present writing engaged in corres- 
pondence with two noted theatrical managers, to act as Agent 
tor the Winter campaign of three months. 

In person, Mr. Mason is not, perhaps, as handsome a man 
as his partner, but is a more decided favorite with the ladies. 
In disposition he is very hot tempered, but quickly appeased ; 
he carries anger as the flint bears fire. His religious convictions 
are rather unsettled, though he believes in a Supreme Being, 
and he is not adverse to making one in a circle of friends where 
the ruby is freely passed, and no one thinks of going home till 
the " rosy." His success in making friends is remarkable, and 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 377 

his genius for conducting a political contest, in a closely con- 
ducted district, is very rarely surpassed. He is one of those 
few men, that, no matter the amount of money he makes, he 
is always poor : he floats in a sea of impecuniosity, and will, at 
the time of his death, be dependent on his friends for a decent 
burial. While Mason remains, the Republican will be wicked 
and prosperous. 



Major John B. Stinson < 



JfllOHN BRAZILL STINSON was born in Virginia, 
March 1st, 1787, of English parents. Elijah Brazill 
Stinson, his father, was a soldier in the Indian War of 1788, 
and made one of the little band under Col. Geo. Rodger Clarke 
that made its raid into Illinois, subduing Kaskaskia, Cahokia, 
and Vincennes in Indiana, to the authority of the State of Vir- 
ginia, in 1783. 

,. J. B. Stinson, the subject of this sketch, was raised in 
Virginia, and learned the cooper trade, that being his father's 
vocation. When he arrived at the age of twenty years, he 
concluded to come to the Indiana Territory, as he had often 
heard his father speak of the trip and country. He left home 
for that purpose, but stopped in Kentucky, having met some 
friends. He located in the region known as Sandy Ridge, Ky., 
and followed the cooper trade, making water vessels of all 
kinds, and at the same time farmed a little. He there met 
Miss Matilda Paine and they were married. He afterward 
moved farther down the Ohio River, near the Fort, which was 
in what now is called Henderson County. In 1809, he removed 
to Indiana Territory, at the foot of the coal hill just below the 
coal mines, and built a substantial log house. He did not live 
in peace long, as the Indians became so troublesome that the 
settlers thought best to remove their families to the Fort across 
the river, in Kentucky, until the Indians were driven away. 
This was about 1810, during the Winter, The river was frozen 
48 



378 JSvansville and its Men of Mark. 

over with thin ice, and they could not take their stock ; but 
had to crawl on hands and feet, dragging their bedding after 
them with long poles, as the ice would not bear a loaded man, 
Mr. Stinson took his family to the "camp" he had built (a three 
sided house, with no floor, built of logs and brush) in the cane- 
brake, extending at that time some two miles over the point. 
He lived there, under the protection of the Fort, for two years 
or more, when he removed to his old place near the coal hill, 
and was living there when Gen. Jackson's fleet of ''dug-outs" 
passed down to fight the l>attle of New Orleans, in 1814, He 
enlisted in the 10th Reg't of militia of Indiana Territory, and 
proved a good soldier. He was rewarded by being commis- 
sioned Captain of the 10th Reg't, on the 27th of June, 1814, by 
Gov. Thos. Posey, Commander-in-Chief of the Territory at that 
time, and did good service during the Indian troubles. 

In 1818, Gov. Jonathan Jennings, Commander-in-Chief at 
Corydon, Ind., the Capital of the State, commissioned John B. 
Stinson Sheriff of Vanderburgh County, to serve until the next 
general election, his commission bearing date of the second 
year of Indiana as a state. 

While serving as Sheriff of Vanderburgh County, he 
entered a tract on the pre-emption act, about 1820, out of town 
some two and a half miles. Moving his family to the new 
home, after his duties as Sheriff had ceased, he employed his 
time running a trading boat up and down the Ohio River for 
some years. Making a nice little fortune, he invested it in 
teams, and run them to and fro from the different trading posts 
through the State. He then removed to Evansville and opened 
a settlers' store, keeping everything that was needed by the 
hardy settlers around about. 

In 1821, he was commissioned Major of the 10th Reg't of 
militia, of the State of Indiana, by Jonathan Jennings, Gov- 
ernor and Commander-in-Chief of Indiana. 

During the Harrison's Indian War, he was a sturdy soldier 
and was well beloved by his men and comrades. 

In 1830, he removed his family to what is now known as 
the Old Stone Quary, living there until he died. 

J. B. Stinson was Probate Judge for several years ; also, 
Associate Judge with Judge Hall. For over thirty-four years 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 379 

he was an able and efficient minister in the General Baptist 
Communion. 

He died in March, 1850, being sixty-three years and 
seventeen days old, and his wife died in 1863, thirteen years 
later, being seventy-two yeart of age. 

There were thirteen children born to them, of whom seven 
are living, three boys and four girls, viz ; 

Berry T. Stinson, Benoni Stinson, H. Clay Stinson, 
Mrs. Nancy Calloway, Mrs. Saleta Evans, Mrs. Fanny P. Green 
and Mrs. Missouri Stinson. 




Evansville iHome for the Friendless. 



|f HE name of Miss Eleanor E. Johnson is inseparably 
associated in the minds of our citizens with this noble 
charity, better known to our community, for a few years past, 
under the name of the " Vanderburgh Christian Home." 

Although not an old institution, it is established on a secure 
basis, and the work it has done and is doing in our midst, so 
commends it to the hearts of all right minded people, that it 
takes high rank among the charities of the city and indeed 
of the country. 

The leading object of the Home is succinctly stated in the 
second article of the constitution of the association : 

" The object of this association shall be to assist women 
who have wandered from the path of virtue and who are desirous 
of leading better lives ; also, to aid those who are in circum- 
stances of peculiar temptation ; to surround them with"' the 
blessed influence of the religion of Jesus, and to teach them the 
glad tidings of salvation." 

That the church and society owed a duty to this unfortu- 
nate class of persons — often more sinned against than sinning — 
referred to in this article, had long been recognized, both by 
Christians and well disposed persons outside the church, and 
the need of a home and systematised work, such as this associa- 



380 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

tian contemplated and afterwards effected, had long been felt, 
but without organized effort little could be accomplished, so 
until within a few years, except by occasional individual effort, 
the work was left undone. In 1869, Miss Johnson, who had 
been for some years a teacher in the colored schools, under 
commission of the American Missionary Association of New 
York, by faithful, persistent effort, succeeded in effecting an 
organization for the purpose of founding a home. When the 
Association was regularly organized according to the laws of 
the State, and Trustees authorized to receive property, 
Mr. Willard Carpenter donated a house and lot situated on 
Ann St., capable of accommodating fifty inmates. 
The property was regularly conveyed to the Trustees of the 
Association, and the managers at once commenced soliciting aid 
to furnish the Home, and provide a fund for current expenses. 
The Home was first occupied in May, 1870. Applications for 
admission had been made as soon as it was known that the 
house had been secured. 

Miss Johnson, to whose energy and persistence the success 
of the project was due, was appointed Matron, and under her 
efficient and capable management, the great value of the charity 
was speedily manifest and the future success of the Home 
assured. It soon became apparent that among the inmates of 
the Home, there were some who would otherwise be charges 
upon the County Asylum and the County Commissioners, in 
view of this fact, considered it nothing more than just that they 
should contribute something as an equivalent, to an institution 
which was actually caring for the poor as well as doing a much 
better work, viz ; preventing pauperism. The Commissioners 
first appropriated twenty dollars per month to the Home, but 
afterwards increased the appropriation to fifty dollars, where it 
now stands. 

The same considerations which had induced the aid of the 
county authorities, were also applicable to the city, and a 
numerously signed petition was presented to the City Council 
asking for assistance. Their claim was recognized, and in view 
of the peculiar character of the charity, as being largely devoted 
to the assistance and reclamation of fallen women, the Council 
passed an order donating to the Home the proceeds of all the 



Evans ville and its Men of Mark. 381 

fines imposed upon houses of ill-fame, and those arising from 
the patronage of immoral haunts. This not proving a desirable 
form of the gratuity, it was soon changed and commuted to a 
monthly subscription of fifty dollars. The people have gener- 
ously responded to the appeals for aid, and the Home, comfort- 
ably furnished, with a small but increasing revenue and a sure 
place in the hearts of the people, h?s more than justified its 
claim to existence, and, in the good it has already accomplished ) 
given glorious promise of faithful, effective Christian work for 
the future. One hundred and ninety-six names are already 
recorded on its books as beneficiaries, who have received aid 
and comfort within its walls, and with increasing means 
the managers will open its doors still wider to the friendless 
and needy. In addition to his former generous gift, in 1872 
Mr. Carpenter donated to the Association two and a half acres 
of land in the lower part of the city, upon which the managers 
will erect a new and commodious building some time during 
the coming year. The following well known citizens compose 
its present Board of Trustees : Willard Carpenter, Dan'l G. 
Mark, Christian Decker, J. W. Nexsen and Col. Wm, H. 
Hollinsworth. 

The Board of Managers is a guarantee of the faithfulness 
with which the work of the Association will be prosecuted. It 
comprises, as will be seen below, many of the best known ladies 
of the city, whose names have been identified long since with 
the Christian work of the city in other fields. The following is 
a list of their names : 

Mrs. Amanda L. Crosby, Prest.; Mrs. Dr. DeBruler.V. Prest.J 
Mrs. Eliza T. Drew, Sec'y.; Mrs. Phillip Decker, Treas. ; 
Mrs Edward Boetticher, Mrs. Jacob Bennighof, Mrs. Willard 
Carpenter, Mrs. A. E. Schrader, Mrs. Jonas Smith, Mrs. F. M. 
Sellman, Mrs, Charles Viele, Mrs. Geo. H. Start, Mrs. M. A. Ross, 
Mrs. Robert Berridge, Mrs. James M. Warren. 

We have said that Miss Eleanor Johnson, the Matron of 
the Home, made the enterprise a success ; and it is true. Cer- 
tainly, but for the pecuniary aid and noble co-operation of 
Christian men and women, she could not have achieved success, 
but it was through these means that she did achieve it. She it 
was who conceived the plan of directing Christian effort into 



382 Fjvansville and its Men of Mark. 

this channel. She took hold of the work when all seemed dark ; 
when there was opposition and discouragement to be met with, 
and even captious criticism ; when numbers of people had no 
faith in the scheme. She is the one who persisted, who agita- 
ted, planned, solicited and organized the work, and therefore 
we say, without disparagement to others, to her the credit is due. 
A passing sketch of her life in connection with the Home will 
be of interest. 

Miss Johnson was born in Southborough, Mass , in 1830. 
In early life she engaged in teaching, and also devoted some 
time to the work of city missionary, in Worcester, Massachu- 
setts. Since 1859, she has been well known in our midst, as a 
faithful Christian worker in neglected fields. From 1859 to 
1864, she taught a school in the colored Methodist church. 

In the latter year the school was removed to the 
old Barnes house on Clark St., an old dilapidated structure, 
which occupied the site of the present colored school building 
on that street. After great efforts the brick school house, on 
the corner of Fifth and Chestnut, was ready for occupancy in 
the beginning of 1866. Miss Johnson taught here six months 
only, when after nearly seven years in this, at that time, difficult 
field, she resigned. She was engaged for a time in city mis- 
sionary work, being employed by several of the churches in 
connection with each other. Afterward she was for nearly a 
year at the head of the Orphan Asylum. The work, nowever, 
by which she will be best knovvn in the future, is that in which 
she is now engaged. After all her labors and disappointments, 
she is now, with long years of life in reasonable prospect, at the 
head of a well organized, practical, effective institution. It 
may, will be, that she may yet be the means of doing incacula- 
ble good, and with the appliances of the Evansville Home 
for the Friendless, aid in rescuing hundreds from that pit of 
sin and degradation, which yearly engulfs so many of the 
daughters of our land. 







DR. ANDREW LEWIS. 




Dr. Andrew Lewis. 



HE subject of this sketch was born on the 19th of April, 
1813, in the village of Lewisburg, York County, Penn- 
sylvania, and was the fifth son of Dr. Webster Lewis, a physi- 
cian who attained great eminence in the profession of medicine. 
The father of Dr. Andrew Lewis was the elder brother of the 
late Ellis Lewis, for many years Chief Justice of the Supreme 
Court of Pennsylvania. 

He was educated in the common schools of his native 
State, as those schools were then conducted in the German set- 
tlements, where the elementary branches of an education were 
only taught, and the text books that were used were far inferior 
to those that are in use now. Leaving school at the age of four- 
teen, he was apprenticed to the business of coach-making, and 
for four or five years continued in that employment, attaining 
considerable dexterity and skill in the use of such tools as are 
brought into requisition in the manufacture of coaches, wagons 
and other vehicles. 

Before he had attained the age of twenty, he turned his 
attention to the study of medicine, under the direction of his 
brother, Dr. Robert Lewis, then a practicing physician. The 
reading and study of medicine, with the instructions of his pre- 
ceptor, laid the ground-work for the good degree of eminence 
which Dr, Andrew Lewis afterwards attained as a physician, in 
Princeton and the surrounding country. 

He left Pennsylvania in 1839 for a far-western home, 
intending to settle in Iowa, but stopped in Gibson County, Indi- 
ana, mainly to recruit his finances, which were reduced to the 
small amount of twenty-five cents. 

The Wabash and Erie Canal being then in course of con- 
struction, he hired himself to his brother-in-law to drive a cart, 
but subsequently became the proprietor of two horses and the 



384 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

same number of carts, which he continued to work until he was 
compelled to desist. Three years before starting for the West, 
he had married Miss Jane Ann McCarer, in Cumberland Co., 
Penn., who accompanied him. While he was employed in the 
construction of the canal, his wife became sick, and with the 
fond affection of a devoted husband, he watched over, and min- 
istered unto her, until she died, which event occurred in the 
month of July, 1839. Mrs. Lewis left a daughter eighteen 
months old, who grew up to womanhood, and is now the wife of 
James L. Thornton. The extraordinary labors that Mr. Lewis 
perlormed, of fifteeu hours a day, and the watching and minis- 
trations to his sick wife, with the great anxiety as to the result 
in her case, brought on him an attack of disease that came well 
nigh proving fatal, for he was confined to his bed for four 
months. After his recovery, in the tall of '39, he taught a 
Winter school at twenty dollars per month, and as was the cus- 
tom in those times, and even later, " boarded round." After 
the close of his school, in the month of January, 1840, he spent 
one year with his brother, Dr. Lewis, in Boonville, Warrick Co., 
where he pursued his study of medicine, and in January, 1841, 
commenced the practice, locating in Winslow, Pike Co., where 
he remained until April, 1843, when he removed to Princeton, 
Gibson Co., where he has resided ever since. Then he entered 
upon the practice of medicine, and continued in it without 
interruption until the Spring of 1850, when he became a candi- 
date of the Whig Party, for the office of Clerk of the Gibson 
Circuit Court, and was elected over John Hargrove, the Demo- 
cratic candidate, and Peyton Devin, an Independent Whig 
candidate. The vote by which he was elected, was a clear 
majority of all the votes cast. At that time the County of Gib- 
son was Democratic, and yet Dr. Lewis was re-elected in the fall 
of 1855, over Stewart Cunningham, the regular Democratic nomi- 
nee. He held the office until the expiration of his second term, 
which was February, 1859. 

On the breaking out of the war, in 1861, he was commis- 
sioned by Gov. 0. P. Morton to recruit the 58th Ind. Reg't. 
He completed this work in four weeks, and was appointed, with- 
out solicitation, its Colonel, but did not accept the appointment. 
The Governor subsequently appointed him Commandant of the 



Evamville and its Men of Mark. 385 

First Congressional District, and as such he recruited the 65th, 
80th and 91st Indian* Kegimeuts, and sent them to the field all 
properly officered. 

The services of Dr. Lewis were highly prized by our War 
Governor and by the Patriotic Citizens of this part of Indiana, 
for they were lavish in his praise, for the active, efficient and 
patriotic labor he had performed in his country's cause, at a 
time when it was struggling for its very life. Nor did his 
labors or devotion to the Union cause cease with his office of 
commandant, but during the entire continuence of the tvar, he 
was known at home and abroad as the friend of the soldier and 
the soldier's family. His contributions to the cause of his 
country, and to the wants of those who were in active service 
as soldiers, and their families, equaled his entire income, and 
that was quite considerable. 

As a citizen, Dr. Lewis has always beenfore most in enter- 
prizes that have had for their object the bettering of the condi- 
tion of the people, by advancing their public and private in- 
terests, and the Town of Princeton would have been far in ad- 
vance of what it is, if we had been blessed with a few more such 
men, enterprising and diligent in the use of their means to im- 
prove the town. He took an active part in the incipient steps 
that gave us the Evansville & Crawfordsville Eailroad, and 
during its construction in 1851 and 1852 he took a large con- 
tract on the same and successfully completed it, In 1854 and 
1856, inclusive, he undertook, in connection with Judge Hall, 
the entire drainage of the swamp lands on the Wabash River 
Bottoms in the County of Gibson. This work was performed 
under the direction almost entirely of Dr. Lewis. By this drain- 
age more than 10,000 acres of land was rendered fit for culti- 
vation, and a vast district of country was rendered compara- 
tively free from the Malaria, that had previously made it a very 
Pandora Box of disease, 

In 1868, when the Citizens of New Albany were moving in 
the organization of a company to build the "Louisville, New 
Albany & St. Louis Air Line Railwav," Dr. Lewis was selected 
to visit New Albany with a view to securing the location of said 
Railroad through Princeton, and to his efforts mainly we owe 
its present location through the County of Gibson and the 
49 



386 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Town of Princeton. Soon after the location of the road, Dr. 
Lewis undertook the contract of building the ten miles of Rail- 
road connecting Princeton and Mt. Carmel, 111. The city of 
Mt. Carmel had given a conditional subscription of $50,000. 
Bv the terms of the subscription the railroad must be built and 
the cars must be running by the 1st of January, 1871. To save 
this conditional subscription, he took the contract and in four 
months completed it. On the 20th of December, the first train 
made the run to Mt. Carmel. He is now the contractor for the 
entire Illinois Division of the "Air Line Railroad," from Mt. 
Carmel to Mt. Vernon, 111., a distance of 65 miles, on 17 miles of 
which the cars are running regularly. 

While Dr. Lewis has been largely engaged in public works, 
he has by no means been idle in his private enterprises. The 
Town of Princeton and the County of Gibson, have been en- 
riched and beautified by the substantial buildings, consisting of 
mills, storehouses and other buildings, with private residences. 
To the farmers of Gibson County he has been a great help, 
having been the pioneer in the milling business, and for 18 
years a purchaser of their grain and pork. He has j ust now built 
and completed a large Grain Elevator, where the wheat growers 
can store their grain safely, and be ready at any time to take 
advantage of a rise in the market. 

Dr. Lewis has been for many years, and is now a man of 
remarkable business capacity, and he has often born up under 
pressure in business and enterprises in which he was engaged, 
that would have crushed other men, and completely unfitted 
them for their work. If a dark cloud gathers over him, full of , 
storm, and the thunder howls, and the lightnings glare in 
grandeur, he looks steadily and perseveringly until a silver 
lining appears, and there hangs his hopes for the coming calm. 

Dr. Lewis was married happily the second time on the 24th 
of December, 1844, to Eliza A. Evans, daughter of James 
Evans, Esq., on old resident of Princeton, who for nearly thirty 
years has been traveling by his side the pathway of life, sharing 
his labors and his honors. She has been with him in feeling in 
sunshine and cloud, and life with them both has been, and is 
now happy and prosperous. This union has been blessed with 
five children, four sons and a daughter. The influence and ex- 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 387 

ample of Dr. Lewis as to industry, enterprise and good morals 
on his lamily and friends and on the community in and around 
Princeton, can not fail to be good. His is an example worthy 
of imitation. 

He became connected with the Methodist Episcopal Church 
a short time before his marriage, viz: in the fall of 1844, and 
has retained membership in that church ever since, giving 
probably more liberally of his means, much of that time, than 
any other member. And now there is no benevolent enterprise 
in the movements of his church, that he is not with the foremost. 
As an officer in the church, his counsel is often sought and 
almost as often as sought it is followed, for he is a safe coun- 
sellor. Being naturally kind hearted, and easily approached, he 
is often referred to, and in church enterprises, as in many other 
things, his liberality has been taken advantage of, and he has 
given at times, to incite others, even more than he should have 
given, For a man of as extensive business and driving in his 
movements for the accomplishment of his ends, he is compara- 
tively mild in his disposition and temper, yet he is firm and de- 
cided, and could not be easily moved from his purpose when 
fully formed. 

Dr. Andrew Lewis will be kindly remembered by the large 
circle of acquaintances and friends, long after the day of his 
life closes, and it is the earnest wish of his many friends that 
the sun of his life may go down without any clouds to darken 
the horizon. 



E. G. Van Riper. 



^E was born in the City of New York, on the 4th day of 
October, 1841, hence is now about 32 years of age. 
His parents are both of American birth and depcent, all of them 
being of Knickerbocker Stock. His father died when he was 
six years of age, leaving a large family without asuperabundance 
of this world's goods. He went to school until he was 12 years 




388 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

of age, when he started out in the world, to take care of himself, 
since which time we are happy to say, "He paddled his own 
canoe," without costing anybody anything. He had several ex- 
periences until he was 14 years of age, when he entered the 
business of Messrs. Fatman & Co., of New York, with whom he 
has always been, and is still connected in business, so he can- 
not be accused of being a "rolling stone." He remained in the 
office of the firm in New York, until 1858, when they sent him 
to the Green River in Kentucky to join Mr. Morris Ranger, of 
that house, to look after their vast Tobacco interests. He contin- 
ued living in Kentucky for several years, their business rapidly 
extending, until at last they covered the entire Tobacco area 
of Southern Kentucky, Indiana, Illinois and Tennessee, with 
headquarters at Evansville. Mr Ranger was chief and our sub- 
ject second in command, but always in the field. Their bus- 
iness became so vast, that they owned and controlled several 
steamboats to transport their Tobacco, and in fact they virtu- 
ally monopolized the Tobacco crop. At the breaking out of the 
Rebellion, they were doing their largest business. In 1862, after 
having spent the winter in purchasing Tobacco, this house 
conceived the idea of engaging in a Cotton operation, along the 
"line of the contending armies. He was sent to Alabama, and 
did a splendid business there, until the fall of Memphis, when 
he removed his headquarters there, and immediately started on 
a trip through the federal lines in Arkansas. He went about 
80 miles in the interior, crossed the St. Francis River, and on 
the fourth day was captured by the Rebles and charged with 
being a Spy. After wandering for two weeks in the bushes 
with them, he was at last taken to Little Rock on foot, and 
thrown intojail. He remained there three weeks without hear- 
ing what was to become of himself, and without having a friend 
in the State. Gen. Hindman was in command of the confederates. 
Mr. Van Riper wrote several letters to headquarters asking 
to be heard or released. At last one Sunday afternoon, he was 
escorted by a guard of Soldiers to the Anthony House in Little 
Rock, and went through the farce of a trial before a drumhead 
court martial, composed of three officers. Of course he had no 
witness, and they would not take his word for anything. It was 
enough that they charged him with being a Spy and found him 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 389 

guilty, and sentenced him to be hanged on the Tuesday 
following at 12 M., not a very agreeable prospect to say the 
least for a young man. He was apprised of it and became 
reconciled. On Monday night a new commander for that dis- 
trict arrived, General Holmes, an old U. S. Army officer ; had 
traveled night and day from Eichmond, to relieve Hindman, 
on account of his cruelties. There was a reign of terror in 
Little Eock, and hanging and shooting were the order of the day. 
Gen Holmes reprieved everybody under sentence, and after a 
re-examination of his case he sentenced him to the penitentiary 
to remain during the war. This was in July, 1862. He was 
kept in solitary confinement for a period of five months, spending 
his twenty-first birthday in prison. He was now released through 
the intercession of President Lincoln, acting through Gen. 
Sherman. Messrs. Fatman & Co. had labored hard to this end. 
He came out a sickly young men, having lost 45 lbs by the 
wretched treatment w r hich he received. He returned to New 
York, recruited his health, and returned during the same winter 
to Evansville. He resumed his place in business, and continu- 
ed so until 1865, when he succeeded Mr. Eanger, as chief in all 
their western business, with an interest in the firm. He con- 
tinued to prosecute as large a business as before, and never 
interfered with politics or public affairs until 1868, when he 
was called upon to allow the use of his name as a candidate for 
Councilman from the 3d ward. His opponent was Peter 
Semonin. It was an exciting contest, but our subject received 
two majority and the certificate of election. He and one other 
were the only ones of the Democratic Party who were elected. 
The remainder of the board were of the opposition. The latter, 
on the plea of fraud, determined to unseat our subject, and being 
assured they would do so, he resigned. The next year he was 
nominated for councilman in the 2d ward, which contained a 
large majority of his political opponents. He now thought he 
would see if politics ruled everything. He was elected by 
twenty-six majority, and the council was now composed of a 
majority of his political friends. Unfortunately for the new coun- 
cil, Mr. Van Eiper and his friends were all new hands in the 
business, and the Mayor, Hon. Wm. H. Walker, was taken sick 
at the beginning and remained so until he died. Mr. Van 



390 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

Riper was selected as chairman of the Financial Committee, and 
hence, received the leadership of the Council. The finances 
of the city were in a terible state, large obligations falling due, 
and no money to pay them. City orders were worth eighty-five 
cents. He had had an extensive experience with money matters 
in his time, and was determined to restore some order out of 
this chaos. He did so. He paid all outstanding debts ; restored 
the credit of the city ; made orders worth par ; and at the close 
of the term, the finances were in a much better shape than they 
had been for many years. This Council did a great deal of 
work, and it is thought, a great deal of good. They first took 
the Carmi Railroad (now the St. Louis & Southeastern) in hand. 
It had been handled for two or three years, without any result. 
There was an election of Directors, and Mr. Van Riper was 
selected as one, receiving the compliment of an unanimous vote, 
(the only one who did.) The citizens told him that they 
expected him to get that road under contract. He promised 
that he would, and he did. He was offered the Presidency, but 
declined the same, preferring to see an older head there. He 
accepted the post of Secretary. We will leave it to any one 
who has had anything to do with that enterprise, to say : " Who 
is entitled to the credit of completing the road?" (Go to Gen. 
Winslow, and he will tell you ) Mr. Van Riper continued as 
Director there, until the machinations of some of the leading 
citizens caused him to be dropped, just before he left Evansville. 
In this Council, he devoted all his energies to have the Lake 
Erie and Straight Line Railroads worked through. He did all 
that lay in his power to give them a fair start. The former is 
in process of construction ; the latter is as yet, showing no signs 
of life. 

He next turned his attention to the supply of water, and 
determined that the city should have Water Works. He went 
through all the details of an examination, everywhere ; advised 
a vote by the people, which resulted in favor of building the 
works ; made a contract, and the city issued $300,000 in bonds, 
bearing seven and three-tenths per cent, interest to pay for it; 
succeeded in selling the whole parcel of bonds, through Isaac 
Keen, Esq., at eighty-seven cents neU, when the previous Coun- 
cil had been selling the same character of bonds at seventy-five 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 391 

cents. In sixty days the works were under full headway, with 
a cheap contract. He left before they were finished ; the con- 
actors having met with unexpected obstacles, and a new Coun- 
cil coming in, with an opposition majority, they determined to 
take unto themselves the credit of this work, and we thjnk 
injured the work almost fatally. 

The Mayor, Mr. Walker, died a few months after this 
Council came into office, and Mr. Van Riper was elected by the 
Council as acting-mayor, with all the powers, etc., of the posi- 
tion. He occupied this position three months, devoting his 
entire time to its various duties. In this time he prepared the 
tax duplicate, which he refers to as being as well done as any 
mayor ever did. He reduced the rate of taxation five cents per 
hundred dollars. At the eud of three months, a new election 
was ordered for mayor. He was offered the nomination by his 
party, but declined, not wishing to abandon business for a 
political position. This Council improved streets, uniformed 
the police, made important annexations to the city, from the 
surrounding territory, and in fact, there was one vast system of 
public improvement inaugurated, which it was impossible for 
any succeeding Council to resist. Hence we are free to say 
without contradiction, that the impetus Evansville received 
from this Council, was the dawning of a new and prosperous 
era for the city. 

However, if there ever was an abused man, it was 
Mr. Van Riper. He was maligned and traduced. Every act 
was questioned and generally abused as a great curse by all the 
opposition. Mr. Van Riper would remark ; " I assure you that 
I got heartily sick of it, and can only say to any man who 
never gave his services to the public, that if he values his good 
name and his peace, never accept a public office." Time rolled 
around, and a new election came for a new Council. He deter- 
mined to see whether the people were craven enough to believe 
all that the opposition had said of him. He accepted a re-nom- 
ination for the Third Ward, (the wards being changed.) Then 
began the fiercest contest that Evansville ever saw. The oppo- 
sition were determined to defeat Mr. Van Riper, and spent 
money without stint ; voting (we are told) one hundred and 
fifty negroes, when there was not exceeding thirty in the ward. 



892 Evansville and it* Men of Mark. 

He was elected, however, by seventeen majority, with only one 
other of his political friends in the new Council. His career of 
usefulness was gone. The opposition would not adopt any of 
his measures, but he was a check on all their schemes, and 
hence there was nothing but turbulence. They tried to tire 
him out by insult, abuse, etc., but he checked them in every 
scheme they brought up. At last he received a summons from 
his house, that his presence was required in Europe. He went 
to New York, learned the nature of it, returned to Evansville, 
and resigned his seat in the Council. 

On the 1st of November, 1871, he sailed from New York 
for Liverpool. Since that time, he has been traveling all over 
the Continent of Europe, extending Fatman & Co.'s business of 
cotton, so that be feels more at home, if possible, in Europe, 
than America. He writes home, that he has never seen any 
country that suited him so well as bis own. But we are digres- 
sing. In 1870, the late John D. Roche and himself conceived 
the idea that it would be a good thing for Evansville and the 
poorer class of citizens to have a Savings Bank. So taking 
advantage of the existing State law, they proceeded to organize 
the same. They looked around, selected a Board of Trustees 
of honest men, aod there came into existence the " People's 
Savings Bank," with Mr. Van Riper as Vice-President and 
Chairman of the Finance Committee. It has had wonderful 
success from the day of its organization. His leaving the coun- 
try, compelled him to resign. This was one of the regrets of 
his life, as he regarded that as a pet project. 

In 1865, Mr. Van Riper took it into his head to marry, and 
soon found a mate in Alice, daughter of Col. James G. Jones, 
one of the oldest citizens of Evansville She was the belle of 
the city. Three children have blessed that union, two of which 
(twins) are living. They are with their parents in Europe. 

Our subject has been very successful in life. He has 
accumulated enough to make his family safe from want. He 
enjoys good health and enjoys life. We hope that some day his 
Evansville friends will not be too proud to say ; " that he did 
something for them." 




JOHN N. SILVEETHORN. 




John Newton Silverthorn. 



BlVEE AND KAILBOAD EDITOR OP THE EvANSVILLE JOUBNAL. 



? AS born on the 12th of September, 1821, in Brooke, 
now Hancock County, West Virginia, in what is 
denominated the Pan Handle, Hancock being the extreme 
northern county of the State. 

He was the son of Henry and Hannah Silverthorn, and 
the youngest of eleven children, nine of whom reached 
maturity. His father was a native of New Jersey, near Logs- 
jail-town, now Johnsonburg. His mother was a native of 
Easton, Pa., her maiden name being McOracken. His paternal 
grand-parents were Oliver and Abagail Silverthorn. 

His parents moved to Western Virginia about the year 
1800, and settled in the wild wilderness ; their nearest neigh- 
bors living four miles distant. Here they built a log house and 
a blacksmith shop, and by hard work and economy, opened 
their farm and accumulated some property. 

J. N. Silverthorn was of delicate health till twelve years 
of age, but received a common English education at the common 
schools of the country — which were very common indeed — 
working on the farm, in the blacksmith shop or the grist and 
saw mill, which his father had built on Tomilson's run, about 
the time his youngest son was born. At the age of fifteen, 
Mr. Silverthorn went to work to learn millwrighting and car- 
pentery. After three years, he went on the river, his first expe- 
rience in steamboating being on the " North Star." He soon 
retired, and returned to the farm ; but an earnest desire for 
education, and a passion for reading, led him to study the lan- 
guages and mathematics with Kev. R M. White, pastor of the 
Presbyterian Church, in the vicinity. When his means were 
50 



394 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

exhausted, he commenced teaching school. His first effort as 
a pedagogue was in Beaver Co., Pa. He afterwards taught 
school in Paris, and near Cross Creek village in Washington Co., 
Pennsylvania. 

In 1845, he went to the Florence Academy in Pennsylvania, 
taught by Prof. John A. Smith. After a few months he was 
induced by a friend to come West, and landed at New Albany 
about the 1st of September, 1845. He took charge of the pre- 
paratory department of J. B. Anderson's Collegiate Institute, 
but the position not proving profitable, he went to Oldham Co., 
Ky-, and taught school for six months, when, meeting Rev. Dr. 
Scoville, President of the Hanover College, he was induced to 
go to that institution, where he remained till the 1st of Jan- 
uary, 1849, with the exception of six months, while in charge 
of the Ripley County Seminary. 

On the 3d of January, 1849, he was married to Miss Harriet 
J. Dinwiddie, of Hanover, Ind., and after spending the Summer 
at the old homestead in Virginia, he returned to Indiana in 
August, 1849, and again took charge of the Ripley County 
Seminary, remaining till March, 1852, when his health failing, 
he engaged for active, out-door exercise in selling clocks in 
Western Indiana and Eastern Illinois, in which business he con- 
tinued for three years, and achieved an enviable reputation, as 
a " live Yankee." 

Mr. Silverthorn next took charge of the editorial depart- 
ment of the American, published in Terre Haute by Isaac N. 
Coltrin, while that gentleman made a visit to Kansas, and after 
a few weeks, Mr. Silverthorn and Isaac M. Brown, late of the 
Sullivan Co. Union, bought the American office, and conducted 
it successfully for a few months, when Mr, Silverthorn sold his 
interest to Col. R. N. Hudson, who had just purchased the 
Wabash Express, with which the American was blended. For 
nearly a year Mr. Silverthorn pursued various occupations, 
when he was engaged in the freight office of the T. H. & R. R. R., 
but after a few weeks was transferred to the Superintendency 
of a book bindery and job printing office owned by Sam'l Craw- 
ford, Chas. Wood and C. W. Ferguson — Mr. Ferguson having left 
hurriedly — the first two gentlemen being President and Secre- 
tary of the T. H. & R. R. R. Here he remained three years, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 395 

when he became city editor of the Wabash Express, in the fall 
of 1858, and continued with it till March, 1862 ; having almost 
full control of the paper during 1861, and up to March, 1862, 
Gen. Oruft, the then proprietor, being absent in the army. 

Mr. Silverthorn came to Evansville and entered upon duty 
as local and river editor of the Journal, March 28th, 1862. 
Having a strong constitution, and willing to work, for the first 
year or two, in addition to his duties as river and city editor, 
he copied nearly all the telegraph reports which were then 
taken on paper, the old-fashioned way, there being no "sounder" 
in the office. 

From the first day's labor as river editor, Mr. Silverthorn 
has made a strong impression upon those connected with the 
river business, and this impression has only been increased \w 
time. He is better posted upon subjects connected with the 
steamboat business, than any man in this section. His manners 
are easy and courteous to all. From the roustabout to the 
captain — all regard him as their warm friend and champion. 
As river editor of the Journal, Mr. Silverthorn has won an 
enviable reputation, To him much credit is due for the rapid 
increase of newspaper matter connected with the river. His 
labors have not been in vain, as his achievements in the past 
have made him, in a measure, the '" King of River Editors." 

His family consists of a wife and three children, two sons 
and one daughter ; having lost two sons and one daughter, his 
first two and last child. Now at the age of fifty-two he is vig- 
orous and lively. He has had but one serious spell of sickness 
during the last thirty-five years. He has had an abundance of 
fun, " if he has not saved much money." 

Mr. Silverthorn was a Democrat till 1854 ; since 1860, a 
sturdy unfaltering Republican. He voted for Filmore in 1856. 
He was the first to place the name of Abraham Lincoln at the 
head of a paper, for President in 1860. 



Alexander Marconnier. 



j[|[ AS bom in the City of Bidarieux, Department of 
y^> Lherault, France, on the 25th day of December, 
1822. His parents being in humble circumstances, he did not 
enjoy the advantages of any other education tban that which 
was afforded him at home, during leisure hours. At the age of 
thirteen, he was apprenticed to a hatter for two and a half years, 
at the expiration of which, he began traveling in the capacity 
of journeyman hatter, visiting all the principle cities of France, 
reaching Paris in the month of March, 1841, where he remained 
until September 12th, 1843, having at that time perfected an 
engagement with a Mr. Janin of New Orleans. He embarked 
at Havre de G-ras, September 20th, on board the ship Taglioni, 
and sailed to the land that was to be his future home, arriving 
at New Orleans November 5th of the same year, which place 
he left in July of the year following. Passing through Cincin- 
nati, he determined to remain there, providing he could find* 
employment there. In this he was successful. During the 
Winter of 1846 and '47, an Opera Manager passing that way, 
heard of his vocal abilities, and offered him an engagement in 
a French Opera Troupe, then at New Orleans. He accepted, 
and made his appearance as the First Premier Tenor in the 
troupe. As a singer, the papers of that day were fulsome in 
their praises of his talent, and vied with each other in heaping 
encomiums upon his career. His career as a singer was of ^hort 
duration. As he had no opportunity to obtain an instructor in 
music, he returned to Cincinnati, and there, for the next five or 
six years following, held the position of foreman in several of 
the largest shops. In 1852, he established himself in business 
with Vinsent & Hibbard, wholesale and retail hat manu- 
facturers, and with whom he remained until July, 1853, when 
he removed to this city. He entered into co-partnership with 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 397 

Mr. P. Vautier in the hat, cap and fur business, and established 
the first hat store in the city. In 1854, he married the sister- 
in-law of Mr. Vautier, Miss Adele Brack, a Swiss lady, who 
bore him five children ; two boys, Louis and Alphonse, and 
three girls, Clotilde, Rose and Emma. In 1867, he purchased 
the interest of Mr. Vautier, who now resides in New York, and 
continued the business on his own account. During the years 
1870, '71 and '72, he was one of the Directors of the Merchants' 
National Bank. 

Mr. Marconnier has not only obtained an enviable position 
as a citizen and a leading merchant, but also, as the father of 
Evansville's favorite songstress — "the Nilsson of Indiana" — 
Miss Clotilde Marconnier — of whom we expect a bright and 
successful career. 



Major Jesse W, Walker. 



r ^(|5|jMAS born in Evansville, Indiana, April 5th, 1841. 
^f^PsJ^? His grand-father, Oapt. Wm. Walker, was killed at 
Buena Vista. His father, John T. Walker, M. D., was a Surgeon 
in the Mexican War, and also, Surgeon in the 25th Ind. Reg't, 
during the late war, and died soon after leaving the service. 
His older brother, Col. Wm. H. Walker, died in service, during 
the late war. 

Our subject was educated in the common schools of Evans- 
ville, and in Indiana University. He left the University in 
1849, and was for two years Deputy Clerk of the Circuit Court. 
He entered the army in the Spring of '62, at the age of twenty- 
one. Soon after, he was appointed Adjt. 25th Ind. Reg't, by 
Gov. Morton. In '63, he was detailed by order of G-en. Grant, 
to report to Maj. Gen. Alvin P. Hovey, as Aid. In '64, he was 
appointed by the President Major and Ass't Adj. Gen., for ser- 
vices in the field. He resigned in the fall of '55, and com- 
menced the practice of law, in partnership with Hon. M. S. 
Johnson . Esq., who was shortly after elected Judge. Since that 
time he has continued in the practice of law. 



398 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

Major Walker is of a retiring disposition, and seeks no 
notoriety. He is heartily liked by the citizens of Evansville. 
His many qualities of heart and word have secured for him not 
an enemy. We hope that he may live long to enjoy his taste 
for literature and the fine arts. 



John L Stanage. 



Iff AS born in Logan County, Ohio, December 25th, 1844. 

wp His father, John Stanage, was a local Methodist 
minister of the Gospel, who died at the age of fifty-four years, 
on the 17th day of July, 1849. His mother, Mrs. Malinda 
Stanage, a faithful and loving wife, died July 24th, of the same 
year, leaving the third son, John L. Stanage, an orphan at the 
age of four and a half years, and also, two older brothers, aged 
respectively fifteen and eleven years, and a younger one, aged 
nine months. 

After being left an orphan, John L. Stanage was placed 
under the care of his uncle, James Stanage, a highly respectable 
citizen of West Liberty, Logan Co., Ohio, who was engaged in 
manufacturing woolen goods. He made that his home until his 
sixth year, when he exchanged it for one at his aunt's, a sister 
of his father, who resided in Elkhart County, Indiana, where 
he remained nearly two years. At the age of seven years, he 
returned to Ohio, and took up his abode with a cousin, a 
daughter of his uncle James Stanage, which place he made his 
home, and entered school in the pleasant little village of West 
Liberty — the home of the great "Piatt" family, one of the most 
notable and hospitable families of Ohio. After school and hours 
of leisure, he would be engaged in selling newspapers and fur- 
nishing subscribers with dailies published in Cincinnati, Ohio. 
He there became known as little " Johnnie the news boy." A 
few years later he engaged in the produce business, and 
remained in that until he became clerk in the Post Office of the 
village, in 1861, where he remained for three years. He then 




JOHN L. STANAGE. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 399 

went. South, where he acted in the capacity of citizen clerk in 
the Department of Commissary of Subsistence, in command of 
James 0. Stanage, Capt, and C. S , who was succeeded by 
Capt. Kobt. L. MoQuilquin, and he by Col. G. C. Kniffin. With 
all three he remained until he was ordered to Atlanta, Georgia, 
where he ranked as Commissary of the field, until Sherman s 
march to the sea. He then left Atlanta, Ga., and came to 
Murfreesboro, Tenn., where he re-entered the Commissary De- 
partment, under Col. G. C. Kniffin, as cashier of that depart- 
ment, in which he remained until December 17th, 1865, when 
he left Murfreesboro for Cincinnati, Ohio. 

He there took a position as book-keeper in the house of 
Wm. A. Webb & Co., a well known firm of that day, engaged 
extensively in the wholesale stationery and blank book manu- 
facturing business, which position he held until 1868. 

He then became connected with the collection department 
of the Singer Manufacturing Co.'s office at Cincinnati, and final- 
ly had full charge of that department, for the Cincinnati office. 
His duties in this position made him acquainted with all the 
details of their immense business. He was often detailed to 
attend to important business, not only in the Cincinnati office, 
but also, in other districts. On account of his abilities as a man- 
ager, he was placed in charge of the Evansville branch, in July, 
1873. Few persons have any idea of the magnitude of the 
Sewing Maching business. The Singer, as the leading company, 
is among the leading corporations of this country. Their sales 
for the last year (219,758 machines, and 48,000 in excess of any 
other machine) amounted to nearly $24,000,000. The business 
of the Evansville branch this year, will amount to over $200,- 
000. There are over seventy employees connected with the 
Evansville branch, and over forty wagons are supplied from 
this office. The office of the company is fitted up in first-class 
style, and has the reputation of being the finest in Southern 
Indiana. This company has adopted the lease system, in order 
to have their machines fully represented in every community. 
Under this manner of doing business, the closest care is requi- 
site, in order to do a safe and profitable business. Over a thou- 
sand persons to-day are paying for machines on the above plan. 
That Mr. Stanage, though only twenty-eight years of age, is the 



400 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

right man in the right place, is amply demonstrated by his 
skillful management of this extensive business, and though we 
may think that their business is small, yet it ranks among the 
leading interests of the city. 

There is not a more skillful manager in the country, than 
John L Stanage, and we bespeak for him one of the most suc- 
cessful careers of any man in the country. What is strange for 
a sewing machine man, he is modest and retiring in his 
demeanor. He is a gentleman in every sense of the term, and 
his many friends regard him as a " boon companion whose con- 
versation is replete with interesting anecdotes of citizen and 
soldier life." 



David Archer. 



^(|^AVID ARCHER, is the son of Thos Archer, of South 
**&&£' Carolina, who left there in 1807 for Indiana Territory, 
but stopped in Tennessee and raised one crop, and then came 
on to this Territory. 

David, the subject of this sketch, was born in 1814, May 
24th, on a farm. His Mother died in 1836, his Father in 1840. 
Before his Father died, he was staying with his brother Samuel 
M. Archer, Merchant, the style of firm being at that time 
Stockwell & Archer, afterwards S. M. Archer. Continued in 
the store up to 1847, and then married Martha McCalla, when 
he set up a store in Patoka, in connection with his brother ; 
continued one and one-half years at that place, and came back 
to Princeton and bought a small farm at the edge of town, 
which has since been incorporated and he sold it out in lots. 
In 1869, he engaged in the clothing business, with Mr. Crow, 
firm Archer & Crow, and doing good business, making clothing 
a specialty, the present firm being successors to Robert 
Duncan, the first clothing firm in the village. 

He joined the Reform Presbyterian Church in 1840. The 
congregation united with the United Presbyterians. Two chil- 
dren are living, a son and a daughter, grown and unmarried. 




B. B. Estes. 



AME to Princeton, Gibson Co., Ind., in 1825, with his 
father, Samuel Estes, who came from North Carolina ; 
settled on a farm outside of the village, and raised a crop of 
corn, and died in 1827, leaving a wife and three children to 
mourn his loss. Not leaving any provision for his family, they 
lived with their grand-father. 

The subject of our sketch, B. B. Estes, was born in North 
Carolina, in 1818, being seven years of age when he arrived in 
Gibson County. Being young when his father died, he started 
out to battle with the world, quite early. He attended school 
during the Winter, and worked at all work. When seventeen 
years of age, his brother, G. P. Estes, and himself borrowed fifty 
dollars and entered forty acres of land, and moved their mother 
on it and farmed, keeping their mother until she married the 
second time. The following year, entered forty acres more of 
land, farming, and his brother worked out at four dollars per 
month, to furnish their bread and meat. They got along fairly 
until their mother married Mr. Holcomb, which broke up their 
home. 

In 1844, B. B. Estes started out alone in the world, doing 
any and everything to make a living. In 1845, he married 
Miss Wheeler, and lived happy for four years, when she died, 
leaving him no children to console him in his misfortune. 

He then engaged in the manufacture of Patent Wheat 
Fans, with some others, they locating at different places for 
awhile, making and selling all they could at one place, when 
they would pull up stakes and settle some place else. He trav- 
eled around for some time in that business, when he returned 
to Princeton, and married Margaret Ann Devin, daughter of 
Alexander Devin, iu 1858, and carried on different trades, until 
when J. P. O'Lownsdial and himself opened a country store, 
51 



iO'A Svansville and its Men of Mark. 

and did well in that business. He afterwards went in with 
Sam. Devin, but his partner died in about three weeks, so he 
closed the business. Afterwards went into business with Ham- 
mond, the firm being Estes & Hammond. After a year's good 
trade, he bought his partner out, it being about 1866, His 
wife died two years afterwards, in 1868, leaving him three 
children, who are still living, strewing his path with kind atten- 
tion. He has had many misfortunes, but is now in comfortable 
circumstances, and enjoys good health, which bids fair to pre- 
serve him for many years, selling dry goods and groceries to 
the Princetonians. 



Jonathan Jaquess. 

I\N the 25th day of September, 1805, Jonathan Jaquess, 



^$gfJ with his family, arrived and located in what is now 
Robb Township, Posey County, Indiana. He purchased the 
land now owned by his son, A. C. Jaquess. There being a small 
improvement on it, he paid eighteen hundred dollars in gold 
and silver, for the one hundred and sixty acres. He entered a 
quarter section of land, (paying two dollars per acre, that being 
the congress price at that time) for each child, his family con- 
sisting of James, Garrison, George, Wesley, Elizabeth, Ogden, 
Permela, Fletcher and A. C. Jaquess. As the boys and girls 
grew up and married, each went to his or ber quarter-section of 
land, and commenced to clear up the dense and heavy forest, 
and in a few years they had quite a settlement, known all over 
the country as the Jaquess Settlement. 

In religion, J. Jaquess and Rebecca, his wife, were Method- 
ists, both joining the church when young. The house was the 
home of all the circuit riders, as well as all Methodists. Indeed, 
it was called a Methodist town. The influence of J. Jaquess 
and his wile Rebecca, was always directed on the side of 
morality. They were the first persons to do away with whisky 
at log rollings, house raisings and corn huskings. In politics, 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 403 

he as well as all his boys, was of the Whig party, believing in 
Henry Clay's doctrine of home protection, and opposed to 
Slavery, that being one of the reasons he moved from Kentucky, 
to get out of the influence of Slavery. 

J. Jaquesss, the subject of this sketch, was born in Middle- 
sex County, New Jersey, on the 28th of April, 1753. His wife 
Rebecca was bora in Kent County, Maryland, on November 2d, 
1762. He was a sailor when the great struggle for liberty — 
the American Revolution — broke out. He volunteered, and 
served during the war, most of the time on land, but part of 
the time on the sea. He was in the battles of White Plains, 
King's Bridge, Long Island and at the surrender of Cornwallis. 
After the war was over, he moved to Harrison County, Ken- 
tucky, remaining there several years, and from there to Indiana, 
at the point designated in the commencement of this article. 

In 1865, the descendants of the subject of this sketch, had 
a Jaquess meeting, or a family re-union. The meeting was on 
the 25th of September, being fifty years since he landed on the 
farm now owned by his son, A. C. Jaquess. At that meeting 
there were over one hundred descendants and relatives of the 
subject of this sketch, and well might it be called a re-union, 
for many relatives met there that had never met before, and 
many met to renew their old acquaintance and talk of their 
past life and history. It was a meeting of joy and grief, for 
many a dear relative was gone to his long home, and in refer- 
ring back to the past, there was many a pleasant thought, and 
many a cause to bring a sigh and a tear. 

In conclusion I would say, by a life of temperance and the 
blessing of God, Jonathan Jaquess lived to the good old age of 
ninety years, two months and one day, and his wife lived 
to be eighty-six years old. 

Order op Births in Jonathan Jaquess' Family. 

Garretson, Elizabeth, George, Rebecca, Permela, Wesley, 
Ogden, Fletcher, Asbury, 



L 




The Lindley Brothers. 




HOSE who observe the engraving upon the opposite 
page, will readily recognize the establishment of 
James. F. and Hiram M. Lindley. 

The above are of Hoosier birth. Their early lives were 
spent upon a farm, but they soon decided upon another and 
more lively field of operations. They each acted as salesman 
in New Albany, and other points. In 1874, the firm of J. F. 
Lindley & Brother was formed, and till 1870, the Lindleys were 
among the leading houses of New Albany. 

In September, 1870, they removed to Evansville, and 
located at No. 79 Main Street. The requirements of their 
growing business made a change necessary, and in September, 
1872, they removed to their present location, Nos. 305 and 307 
Main Street. 

As citizens, the above have been second to none in public 
spirit and enterprise, and their brief business career in this city, 
has gained the confidence of the public. Pleasant and inviting 
in conversation, honest in their sales, genial in appearance and 
disposition, they can not but succeed, as their motto is: " Hon- 
esty and one price for all." 



Judge John Pitcher. 



Editor Historical Publishing Company ; 
Dear Sir : 

In reply to youra of the 5th inst., 
I have to say that I know very little of my father's past life or 
history, and cannot, therefore, present you with the information 
desired. 

The old gentleman was born at Watertown in Connecticut, 
about seventy-eight years ago. His legal education was at 
Litchfield, under the instruction of Judge Reeves, a brother-in- 
law of Aaron Brown, and author of Reeves Domestic Relations, 
and of Judge Gould, author of Gould's Pleadings, both eminent 
men, and founders (I think) of the first law school in the Uni- 
ted States. Admission to the Bar was at Hartford, Conn., 
about 1815. Moved west soon after. First wife was Miss Gam- 
ble, a sister of Commodore Gamble, U. S.N., and Col. Jno. 
Gamble, TJ. S. Marines. Several other brothers were officers in 
the Navy. The family was from New Jersey. 

Second wife was a Miss Cipna, daughter of Dr. Stephen P. 
Cipna, who was at one time, a medical officer in the army, and 
accompanied Gen. Clark's Expedition, etc. The doctor died at 
Rockport, Iud. Family was from Pennsylvania. Mrs. James 
G. Jones is, I have been told by the late Judge Jones, a relation 
of the late Dr. Cipna, and one daughter, Mrs. Crooks, widow of 
Col. Jno. W. Crooks, is still living. Dates, etc., I can't give 
you. 

My father has attached but little importance to matters of 
pedigree, and I imagine, would not enlighten you much upon 
that subject, in a long conversation. His people were Yankees 
of pure English descent, who came to New England in 1719, 
(probably.) 

Religion ; Episcopalian. Confirmed by an Episcopal Bish- 
op, who was a brother of Lord Mansfield. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 407 

Of the old mans relations of whom I know and have heard 
from other members of the family, I can only name the late 
Nathaniel Pitcher, once Governor of New York, and the late 
Dr. Zena Pitcher, of Detroit Michigan, both cousins. This mat- 
ter of kindred might be generalized by saying that relationship 
embraced about half of New England and New York. 

I have given you about all the light upon the kindred 
subject, of which I am capable. 

Very Kespectfully, 
Mt. Vernon, Ind., Oct. 16, 1873. H. C. Pitcher. 



Joseph Devin. 



jSHtOSEPH DEVIN, son of Alexander and Sarah Devin, 
^mSk was b° rn the 22nd of May, A. D. 1805, in Warren Co., 
Kentucky. His father cvas a Baptist minister. He moved 
from Kentucky to Indiana, and settled near Princeton, Gibson 
Co., when Joseph was about five years old. There were few 
settlers in the county at that time. His father and mother 
reared a large family on a farm, two and a half miles south-east 
of Princeton. 

At an early age, Joseph commenced business for himself, 
first farming, then teaching, afterwards clerking for Mr. John 
Brownlee, one of the oldest merchants in Princeton. In a few 
years he went into mercantile business, and finally became one 
of the largest dealers in produce and merchandise, in the 
county. 

The 17th of September, A. D. 1833, he married Nancy Eobb, 
daughter of Major David and Nancy Robb. His father-in-law 
was one of the old settlers of Gibson County. He participated 
in the battle of Tippecanoe, as Captain of a company of infant- 
ry. Joseph and Nancy Devin settled in Princeton, one square 
North of the public square, and continued to make that their 
home during his life. There they reared six children, three 



408 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

sons and three daughters. He was very cheerful, kind and 
indulgent, in hie family. He was always considered an upright 
man, had the confidence of the community, always ready to 
assist those who were willing to assist themselves, and ever 
ready to help the poor, and was often called the "poor man's 
friend." 

For years there was not a bank in Princeton; the Treasurer 
deposited the money of the county, with Joseph Devin, taking 
his receipt for it ; so he was virtually the banker of the county. 
In politics, he was termed a Whig, during the existence of that 
party. He served one year in the Legislature, and three years 
as County Commissioner. 

In the Spring of 1861, he made a profession of religion, 
and lived a consistent Christian. He labored faithfully for the 
suppression of the Kebellion of 1861, and contributed largely 
of his means ; in fact, never seemed to allow an opportunity to 
pass, without assisting in word and deed. His great anxiety 
for the suppression of the Rebellion, seemed to hasten his death. 
He died the 10th of March, A. D. 1864, and was interred in 
the cemetery in the north-east part of Princeton. 



Charles C. Schreeder. 



\F the young men who have carved out their own for- 
tunes, and attained an honorable position in society, 
is the subject of this sketch. He was born in Berlin, Prussia, 
on the 19th of January, 1847. His father, Charles Frederick 
Schreeder, was a Democrat, and was engaged in the rebellion 
of '48, and participated in those noted fights in the streets of 
Berlin. 

His mother started for America on the 3d of April, 1852, 
as a passenger on the sailing vessel Adolphphena, and on the 
16th of August arrived in Baltimore. On the voyage, 
Mrs. Schreeder was dangerously ill, and at one time her life 
was almost despaired of. Having friends in Huntingburg, she 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 409 

immediately started for that destination, and arrived there on 
the 1st of September, After a few months' residence in Hunting- 
burg, Mrs. Schreeder was married to the Kev. Frederieh Wiet- 
haup, a well known minister of the German Evangelical church, 
and the family removed to Evansville, where Mr. Wiethaup had 
charge of a congregation of that denomination, and continued 
in his labors till 1855. The reverend gentleman now resides at 
Huntingburg, in the enjoyment of good health. 

Our subject's school privileges were exceedingly limited. 
He attended the common schools several terms at Evansville 
nnd other places where his father was stationed. In 1860, 
while his father was stationed at Dayton, Ohio, he attended one 
term at the California school of that city. 

In 1863, at the age of sixteen, he enlisted in Co. D. of the 
2nd Ohio, and was engaged in chasing Morgan. After six 
months' service, he was discharged, and immediately thereafter 
came to Evansville, and endeavored to learn the saddler's trade. 
His health not permitting, he did not continue that occupation. 
In the month of January, 1865, he again enlisted, this time in 
Co.. E. 143d Eeg't, Ind. Vol., under the command of Col. J. F. 
Grill. On the 17th of August, he was wounded while scouting, 
arid was disabled for life. He returned home in October, 1865, 
and went to work for C. Decker & Sons. 

He was married on the 12th of April, 1868, to Miss Louisa 
C. Behrens, daughter of Herman Behrens, one of the first set- 
tlers, and also, the first merchant of Huntingburg, 

In January, 1869, he was appointed Deputy Beal Estate 
Appraiser of Vanderburgh County, and served in that capacity 
with credit to himself, and profit to the county. In April, 
1870, he was elected City Assessor, and held that office one 
term. From January, 1870, to April, 1870, he was also Deputy 
Township Collector, with Wm. Warren, Sr. In the fall of 1870, 
he was elected Township Assessor, and held that office till 
April, 1872, when he was elected City Clerk, and retained that 
position till April, 1873. His official career was honorable, and 
if a high-minded management of his business was any criterion, 
Mr. Schreeder was a successful official. Since Spring, Mr. Schree- 
der has been engaged in various mercantile operations. 
52 




STROUSE & BROS.' CLOTHING PALACE. 



Robert Stockwell. 



!>0N of Samuel and Ann Stockwell, was born in Wash- 
ington County, Pennsylvania, on the 27th of Decem- 
ber, 1785. He was the youngest of six sons, and next to 
youngest of eleven children. His parents emigrated to Ken- 
tucky in 1786, and settled in Bourbon County. In 1792, they 
removed to Fleming County, where the family obtained a per- 
manent home. Kentucky was a wilderness, but our hardy 
pioneers went bravely to work, and made pleasant homes for 
their families. His father died in 1794, and his mother 
in 1817. 

In December, 1815, our subject went to Pittsburg, pur- 
chased a stock of goods, loaded a flat-boat, and floated down 
the Ohio. In January, 1816, after a long and tedious voyage, 
he landed at what is now known as Evansville. Hugh McGary 
had a double log cabin on the bank, and his family assisted in 
dragging the goods out of the way of the water, and extended 
to him many courtesies. Mr. Stockwell had an acquaintance 
at Princeton, and he immediately started for that point, then 
only two years old, and containing twenty cabins. A Court 
House built of salmon brick and common mortar, was the pride 
of the village. In company with J. W, Jones, father of the late 
Judge Jones, he sold dry goods, etc., for over four years. Till 
1846, Mr. Stockwell remained in Princeton, and his store was the 
headquarters of nearly all the settlers. For many years he was 
county agent and overseer of the poor. He cared not for polit- 
ical preferment, but rather sought the quiet walks of life, where 
in an unostentatious manner, he cared for the poor and needy, 
and exemplified the truths of that religion he professed to 
believe. In January, 1825, he was married to Miss Sallie A. 
Barnes, sister of Robert Barnes. This worthy lady died in 
September, 1826, leaving an only child, now Mrs. Elizabeth A. 
Stockwell. 



412 Evansville and Us Men of Mark. 

In 1846, our subject removed to Lafayette, which is at pres- 
ent his place of residence. For many years he was in the whole- 
sale grocery line, but of late he has engaged in banking and 
the building of railroads. Mr. Stockwell, though nearly eighty- 
eight years of age, is in the enjoyment of good health, and is 
free from the diseases which generally attend the aged. His 
handwriting is as firm as a youth's, his conversation is interesting 
to all, and we can truly say that the pioneer has kept up with 
the times, and is as alive to-day on the great questions of inter- 
nal improvements as he was forty years ago. 



Hugh Henry Patten. 



^{Cz^ON of James Patten, Sen., was born near Clarksville, 
%^g) Montgomery County, Tennessee, on the 30th of April, 
1796. His father's family came from England to Pennsylvania 
while it was a colony. 

After the Revolutionary War, in which he took a great 
interest, and in which he spent his whole fortune, he went to 
Tennessee ; from thence he removed to Indiana, about 1804. 
He settled on Green River Island, above Evansville, but an 
unusual flood in the Ohio River drove the Islanders from their 
homes ; drowning their stock, sweeping away their houses and 
crops, leaving them perfectly destitute. His father was totally 
ruined, having lost stock, crops and house, and everything in it. 
He sought and found high land where Evansville now stands ; 
he landed, and camped near the spot where Barnes' store stands. 
The weather was very severe, and the several families suffered 
much from its inclemency. A German by the name of Links- 
wiler, with a large family of his own, who lived on high ground 
below where they were encamped, came in a canoe and took off 
about fifteen children, and sheltered them in his cabin, where 
he and his good wife treated them as kindly as if they had been 
their own. Fortunately, there was plenty of game in the 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 418 

forest, and they lived principally on wild meat. As for bread, 
they had none, except what was made by beating corn in a 
mortar, scooped out of the stump of a tree. Their main sub- 
stitute for bread was lye hominy, made by boiling corn in 
strong lye till the skin peeled from the grains ; then washing 
the lye out and boiling till tender. 

At that time, there was not more than one or two houses 
between the Ohio River and Vincennes. Almost every man, 
when he left his cabin, was armed with his gun, butcher knife 
and tomahawk, accompanied by his dog ; and occasionally, 
women were seen, traveling with the same precautions against 
danger, and many of them were as expert in the use of those 
things as the men. They were not then harrassed by the 
Indians, though their were more of them than of the whites. 
A great part of the men's clothing was of the skins of wild 
animals, particularly of the deer. This enabled them to pass 
through the brush and briers of the forest, with more ease and 
comfort, than any other material. At a later period, the 
Indians gave them much trouble and constant watching, and 
some fighting. Two Chiefs, Trackwell and Setadown, had a 
town between Evansville and Boonville. Their people mur- 
dered part of the Meek family, near where Newburgh now 
stands. In those days they suffered many privations, which 
would now be considered very grievous ; but we verily believe 
they enjoyed life then quite as much as they do now. 

The early part of our subject's education, was acquired 
with Revs, James McGready and Daniel Comfort of Henderson, 
Kentucky. He entered Nassau Hall, Princeton College,' New 
Jersey, in 1816, and graduated in 1820, and received from the 
College a full diploma of A.B., and from the American Whig 
Society, a literary and scientific institution, a diploma confer- 
ring on him the degree and title of F A.W.S. Soon after grad- 
uating, he was called to take charge of the Warren County 
Seminary, in Warren County, Ky., which was afterwards char- 
tered as a College, in which he was elected Professor of Mathe- 
matics. After remaining in the College for several terms, he 
resigned his Professorship. 

On the 16th of October, 1822, he was married to Jane Moore, 
daughter of Samuel Barclay, Sen., of Bowling Green, Ky. 



414 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

After resigning his professorship, in 1823, he was ordained 
a minister of the Gospel, by the Presbytery of Muhlenburg, of 
the Presbyterian Church. In 1824, he removed to Tennessee, 
and remained in that State till 1831, when he again removed 
to Kentucky. He served the Board of Domestic Missions, 
under the care of the General Assembly, until his health failed 
from labor and exposure, about 1832. In 1834, he removed to 
Indiana. 

He commenced the practice of medicine about 1838, and 
continued the practice till about 1868, and although he prac- 
ticed medicine, he continued to preach occasionally, as long as 
he was able. His success in all his callings, has been as great 
as men in like occupations usually meet with. He -has only 
one child living, Dr. James C. Patten, who has six children 
living ; their oldest, a daughter, died in 1840, aged sixteen 
years. 

And now, having lived nearly four-score years, he wishes 
to record his constant and unwavering belief in the truth of 
the Christian Scriptures, and the sufficiency of the Christian 
Religion to meet and supply all man's spiritual wants, and to 
inspire a lively hope ot a glorious Resurrection, and a iuture 
life of holiness and happiness in Heaven. 



Charles E. Marsh. 



? AS born in Waterford, Washington Co., Ohio, on the 
10th of April, 1835. William Marsh, the ancestor 
of the American branch of the family, and the heir and owner 
of the manor of Stone Hedge, in Kent County, England, emi- 
grated from there in the year 1635, and landed at Salem, Mas- 
sachusetts. At about the same period, his mother's ancestors 
emigrated from England and settled at Boston, Massachusetts, 
one head of the family, Gregory Stone, including in his landed 
posessions what is now Mt. Auburn Cemetery, near Boston. 

Charles E. Marsh is entirely of English descent, and is 
aware of having no ancestor coming from England later than 



JSvansville and its Men of Mark, 415 

two hundred years ago. He was educated principally by his 
mother, at an exceedingly early age. He spent one term, how- 
ever, at an academy in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and two years at 
Antioch College, i n Ohio. At fifteen years of age, and before going 
away from home to school, he commenced by himself to read law 
— a study which, although followed in a desultory manner, he 
never entirely abandoned. He arrived at Evansville directly 
from college, in the Spring of 1859, and on the 15th of October 
following, commenced at the bottom round again to study law 
methodically, with Governor Conrad Baker, under whose tuition 
a consciousness (to use Mr. Marsh's words) began to dawn on 
his mind that the former estimates which he had made of his 
legal acquirements were a trifle too high— in fact, that he knew 
just enough, that if he had been in practice, to get into all 
sorts of trouble, but not enough to ever get out again. In 
September, 1861, he was admitted to the bar, and owing to his 
preceptor, then Col. Baker, having gone into the army, found 
himself with a full practice on his hands. Much success 
attended the disposal of the large number of cases which fell to 
his lot to manage at this time. He was indebted to Judge Igle- 
hart, Gen. James E. Blythe, Hon. Thos. E. Garvin, Major A. L. 
Robinson and John J. Chandler, Esq., for many courtesies. 
These gentlemen kindly, and often without fee, aided with their 
counsel the young lawyer when he sadly needed their assistance. 
He contrived to gain an immense amount of law from Judge 
Iglehart during those days, making a good use of the same on 
many an occasion. Of late years his practice has been princi- 
pally in the U. S. Courts, and in this branch of the practice has 
gained considerable distinction. 

Mr. Marsh is not only a fine lawyer, but he is also a lover 
of the solid literature of the day. He is familiar with all the 
Reviews — English and American — and can speak by the hour, 
con amore, on the leading topics of "Blackwood" or the "Atlan- 
tic." He was married in 1863, to Miss Mary E. Denny of Vin- 
cennes — a lady of the highest culture, and a fit help-mate of 
a scholar and professional gentleman. 

Our space forbids us to speak at length, but yet we will 
say that our subject is a jolly companion, and that "time flies on 
wings" when spent in his company. 




E. French. 



'AS born near Patoka, Gibson County, Indiana, on the 
26th of January, 1825. His father, Wm. French, 
and his mother, Mary Breading, were both natives of Fayette 
County, Pennsylvania. They were married in March, 1822, 
and moved shortly afterwards in a flat-boat down the Monon- 
gahela and Ohio Rivers to Evansville, (then a mere river land- 
ing) where they disembarked and went directly to a farm near 
Patoka where their family was born. This consisted of four 
sons ; first, David, who was accidently killed by a runaway 
team, March 7th, 1838, aged sixteen years. Our subject was 
the second. Nathaniel B., formerly a merchant in Princeton — 
during the war was Major of the 42nd Ind. Reg't, and is now 
living in Princeton, and Lucius S., now owning and living on 
the old family farm. His father was accidently killed by a 
tree, on Sunday, in October, 1844, while riding along the road 
near his residence, and while returning from church at Prince- 
ton, in the fiftieth year of his age. His mother is still living on 
the farm with his brother, and is now almost eighty years of age, 
and in the enjoyment of excellent health. 

Our subject was educated first in the common schools of the 
country, near his father's residence, and then for a year at the 
Princeton Academy. Afterwards he attended Hanover College, 
near Madison, Indiana. At his father's death, the cares of the 
family devolved upon him, but after remaining at home one 
year, he went to the State University at Bloomington, where he 
graduated in the Scientific Course in 1846. He returned home, 
and for several years he was engaged in farming and tra- 
ding in produce, which he transported in flat-boats out of Pato- 
ka into the Wabash River, and thence down the Ohio and Mis- 
eissippi Rivers to New Orleans. On May 10th, 1849, he was 
married to Miss Mary H. Stockwell, daughter of Dr. W. H. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 417 

Stockwell of Patoka, and sister of Geo. H. Stockwell and 
Nathan H. Stockwell of Evansville, and Minerva Bingham, wife 
of G. B. Bingham, of Patoka, Ind, 

In August, 1850, he moved to Evansville, and in connec- 
tion with Fielding Johnson, then of Bowling Green, Ky, , 
entered into the wholesale and retail dry goods business, under 
the style of Johnson & French. In 1856, Mr. Johnson retired 
from'business on account of ill health, and Mr. French purchased 
his interest, and Mr. Johnson moved to Topeka, Kansas. 

Mr. French then formed a co-partnership with Sylvester 
I. Jerauld, of Patoka, and for three years the style of firm was 
French & Jerauld. He then changed the business to that of 
wholesale clothing, and till the commencement of the Southern 
Rebellion in 1861, Mr. French sold goods in Kentucky, Indiana 
and Illinois, under the style of Wm. E. French & Go. He sus- 
tained heavy losses, in the way of bad debts, and retired from 
business for one year, in order to settle the affairs of the house. 
After the passage of the new Internal Revenue Bill, he was 
appointed Deputy Collector for this division of the First Dis- 
trict of Indiana, and served three years in that capacity. Many 
of the maimed soldiers of the war returned home, and believing 
that the civil offices under the patronage of the Government 
should be held by the returned veterans, who had risked their 
lives for its support, on the field of battle, he resigned his office 
in favor of Wm. "Warren, Jr., an honorably discharged private 
of the 25th Ind. Reg't, who had returned home to Evansville 
with the loss of his right arm. He recommended his appoint- 
ment, was on his bond, and assisted him in gaining a knowledge 
of the various duties of the office. 

In 1863, Mr. French again entered into the wholesale dry 
goods business, with J, S. Jaquess, under the style of Jaquess, 
French & Co. They had a large and profitable business for five 
years, during which time, the firm opened the carpet business, 
in the second story of their store. By mutual agreement, the 
business was then divided. The dry goods portion was sold to 
Hudspeth, Smith & Co., and Mr. French, in connection with 
Charles Klinglehozffer , went into the general carpet and house- 
furnishing business exclusively , and from that time to the pres- 
ent, have been doing a large business in that line. Their 
53 



418 Evansville and Us Men of Mark, 

spacious and elegant store, No. 205 Main Street, contains one 
of the largest and most beautiful stocks of carpets, etc., to be 
found anywhere in the whole West, and would attract attention 
in any city in the United States. Buying direct from the man- 
ufacturers, the firm is enabled to meet the views of the closest 
buyers, and sell against all competitors, East or West. On this 
account, Evansville has become proverbial as the Cheapest Car- 
pet Market west of the Alleghany Mountains, and this house 
has been the head-quarters for supplies for dwellings, steam- 
boats and hotels. The St. George Hotel is now being furnished 
entirely by this house, and will be a model hotel for comfort, 
elegance and good taste. 

Mr. French has five children, two of whom, Wm. S. and 
Harry B., are associated with the management of the establish- 
ment. 

The partner of Mr. French, Mr. Charles Klinglehoef- 
fer, was born at Hesse Cassel, Germany, June 29th, 1830, and 
emigrated to Evansville in 1850. He understands his business 
thoroughly, and is deservedly one of the most popular salesmen 
in the city. 

The upholstery department of the house of Wm. E. French 
& Co., is under the control of Louis Stolz, whose taste and work- 
manship have never been equalled in Evansville. The paper 
and decoration work is done by W. V. Ramage, of Dayton, Ohio, 
and C. J. Hollis, recently of Memphis, but formerly of Phila- 
delphia. Their work is equal to any, and excelled by none, for 
beautv of design or style of execution. 



Christian Kratz. 



j^j|s|j^)ROMINENT among the most respected citizens of 
T«$j^P Evansville, stands Christian Kratz. The facts of 
his life furnish # sufficient encomium of his character. 

Mr. Kratz was born in Hesse Cassel, Germany, on the 5th 
day of September, 1823. His parents were John and Elizabeth 




C. KEATZ. 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 419 

Kratz. In 1834, his father, with his family, being greatly in- 
volved, sold his farm in the Old "World, to seek his fortune in 
the New, landing in this country in September of the same 
year, in Baltimore, with a five-franc piece. Soon preparations 
were made, and the father, together with his family, took the 
National Turnpike for Pittsburg. At this place the father, 
with his eldest son and Christian, went into a foundry, where 
they labored until the Spring ot 1837. In the month of April 
of the same year, they removed to Evansville. His father, then 
satisfied with having gone "West far enough, entered one hun- 
dred and sixty acres of Government land in German Township, 
at one dollar and twenty-five cents per acre, all of which was 
heavily timbered. In two years' time, this land was in good 
arable condition. 

In 1838, our subject worked on the canal, then in process 
■of construction, at eight dollars per month. From the last date 
until the fall of the year 1847, our subject worked at various 
employments, when, by the most rigid economy, he had saved 
five hundred dollars. Having previously (in 1846) married 
Miss Mary Heilman, he now proposed to his brother-in-law, the 
present Hon. Wm. Heilman, that they engage in the foundry 
•business, and the partnership was formed, and the small begin- 
ning was commenced of that immense business now carried on 
by the respective gentlemen. 

Some of his travels, etc., are mentioned in the following lines; 
In the Winter of 1838, he worked on tj>e farm of Mr. Horn- 
brook, at eight dollars per month. In the Summer of 1839, he 
worked with his father in clearing. In the fall, he worked for 
Mr. Aiken, gathering corn, at ten dollars per month. In the 
same year, he went on a fiat-boat to New Orleans. He shipped 
■on the St. Louis Packet, Mary Tompkins, from his boat to Wes- 
ton, to take on one hundred barrels of flour. In returning, the 
boat sank. For forty-eight hours he was without anything to 
eat, pumping to save the boat. He then shipped on the 
Amazon. In four or five days she sank. He then 
went by the steamer West Wind to New Orleans, where he 
shipped on another boat, the Western Belle, a Cincinnati and 
New Orleans Packet, for the remainder of the season. What 
money was saved he took home to his parents, in 1840, where 



420 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

he worked during the Summer. Iu the fall, he went to Louis- 
ville and shipped as deck-hand and watchman on the steamer 
Grey Eagle, commanded by Captain Shelcross, at eighteen dol- 
lars per month ; remained lor seven months, when he came 
home again. 

In the fall of 1841, he assisted his father in building a 
large, double two story log house on the farm, which now 
remains, and is owned by John Bowers. He cut his right ankle 
while finishing the house, with a broad axe. In the same fall, 
he went to Louisville to get a situation on a boat ; was advised 
by friends not to go on the river on account of his cut ; went 
into the foundry of Meadows & McGrane, at nine dollars per 
cveek ; staid six months, then went to another shop at piece 
word; and worked up to twenty-five dollars per week. He got 
his older brother to go to Louisville and engage in the same 
business, in 1S45. His brother was engaged to be married 
Christmas, of the same year. He borrowed some money of 
Christian. The river froze over, so they could get no convey- 
ance, and they crossed the river and took it a-foot, making the 
trip to Evansville in four and one-half days. He lost four toe- 
nails, which never grew on again. 

In 1846, he came back from Louisville, and soon formed 
the partnership as above stated, which terminated in the fall of 
1864. 

Since 1864, Mr. Kratz has managed the Southern Machine 
Works with great success. In 1870, the foundry was enlarged 
to its present capacity, which places it among the largest in 
this section, Personally, Mr. Kratz is plain and unassuming. 
He is not ashamed of his humble origin, and wears the same 
style of clothes to-day that he wore on his entry into business. 
He is kind to the poor — and keeps open house for many a score 
of friends — who regard our subject as "A hail fellow well met." 



William Jerauld. 



IIJfeMONG the early settlers in southern Indiana, Wm. Jerauld' 
$w*!) Esq., formerly of Princeton, but now of Patoka, Indiana' 
deserves a passing notice. 

He was born in the town of Warwick, State of Ehode Island, 
July 3d, 1793. He was the fifth son of Dr. Gorton Jerauld. He 
received a fair common school education, for those days, and 
possessing a most wonderful memory he made good use of it. 
From bis boyhood he was well versed in the politics and the 
history of the Country, and when the War of 1812 was declared, 
he was among the foremost to volunteer, enlisting and serving 
to the close of the war in Capt. Smith Bosworth's Company. 
He was married to Miss Adah Bucklin, of Pawtucket, R. I„ on 
the 14th of December, A. D. 1814. 

Having become inured to toil, and full of that adventurous 
spirit which was so characteristic of the early settlers of this 
portion of the country, he started on a tour of observation to 
the far west, as it was then called, arriving at Evansville, Ind., 
then a little Trading Post, with perhaps one log cabin, in Dec- 
ember 1816.' He stopped at Vincennes, Ind., the only place of 
any prominence west of Louisville, and spending the winter 
there, he started home in the Spring of 1817, going by water, 
via New Orleans, the Isle of Cuba and Boston — arriving home 
in the autumn of 1817, after being out seven months on the 
voyage. 

Mr. Jerauld then took his young wife, his father's family 
bearing him company, and came back to make their home in the 
wilds of Indiana, landing at Evansville in the month of Janu- 
ary, A. D. 1818. 

The family then consisted of the following persons : Dr. 
Gorton Jerauld and wife, who were the father and mother of 
Wm. Edward, Dutee and Sylvester T. Jerauld, with two 



422 Evansville and its Men of Mark. 

daughters, Candace, who subsequently was married to Gordon 
Bingham, formerly of Baltimore, and was the father of G. B. S. 
J. and John Bingham ; and Phebe Ann Jerauld, who married 
Charles Harrington, who was well known in Evansville, Ind., 
as were the Bingham Bros, two of whom, G. B. and John survive, 
and are now among the most prominent business men of Evans- 
ville. His brother Edward, was the father of G. N. Jerauld of 
Princeton, Ind., who is one of the most wealthy and enterprising 
merchants of the place. 

Wm. Jerauld settled in Princeton, Ind., on a lot where 
John Lagon now resides, paying $250 for it, which was all the 
money he had. But Mr. Jerauld was not long in making a 
good living for his family. His genial disposition and fine ad- 
dress, together with his business qualifications, made him "a man 
of ?nark" among the people, and he was nearly constantly 
employed in offices of honor or profit, or assisting those who were 
so enploved, insomuch that he became a general favorite. 

But after taking a fair start towards becoming wealthy, he 
and his brother Dutee, on or about the year 1831, built a Cotton 
Factory in Princeton, which burned down soon after it was 
started, and there being no insurance, the loss was for a time 
ruinous. His freinds and creditors persuaded him to compro- 
mise his debts by paying fifty cents on the dollar. But he and 
his brother both refused to do this, asking only one year's time, 
during which they sold their homes in Princeton, and paid all 
indebtedness. After this Mr. Jerauld put up two Flouring 
Mills, in company with others. But not succeeding very well 
in these enterprises, he went to Patoka, four miles North of 
Princeton, and purchased a bouse and lot. This was about the 
year of 1842. He with his excellent wife spent many years 
here, keeping Hotel, mainly for transient custom, and it is safe 
to say there was no better fare in Southern Indiana than wa« 
found here. Their table was not only loaded with all the 
choice luxuries the country could afford, but Mr. Jerauld's 
pleasant manners, and his natural friendly disposition won for 
him golden opinions from his guests. 

Since the death of his wife, which 'took place many years 
ago, he divides his time among his children — staying a part of 
the time with a son in Missouri and a part with his daughter, the 



Evansville and its Men of Mark. 423 

wife of Jesse T. Lamb, Esq., who lives on his former old home- 
stead in Patoka. 

Mr. Jerauld is a man possessed of more than ordinary in- 
tellect and culture, and in his younger days he not only had an 
extraordinary memory, but his conversational powers, his wit, 
his inexhaustible fund of anecdote made him a universal 
favorite. 

He was an old line Whig in politics, and a very warm poli- 
tical partisan. It was often the custom in the olden times, at 
the hria' ./- ... elections, to have one man on each side to have 
a sort of a street debate. On all such occasions Wm. Jerauld 
was not only ready to give his reason concerning the political 
hope that was within him, but he was the peer in argument of 
any man who might be pitted against him, of the opposite party. 
But he was not quarrelsome — he never got angry, and he was 
too good a story-teller to let his antagonist get out of humor. 
If he saw some rising cloud of anger in the countenance or tone 
of his opponent, he would suddenly tell some pleasing story 
which would convulse the whole crowd with laughter, and in this 
way good feeling was always restored. And although, now he 
labors under the weight of eighty years, he walks erect, con- 
verses intelligently, and his eyes beam with much of the old 
time luster they were wont to exhibit in his younger days. He 
can still amuse his friends with stories of olden times — tell them 
of the wilderness which has budded and blossomed as a rose, 
how the country was once beset with howling beasts and sava- 
ges, and how churches and school houses have sprang into being, 
and cultivation and progress have taken their places, and are 
now the order of the day. 

And it is the hope of his many friends, that he may live 
long to enjoy the happiness of that freedom and general prosper- 
ity, which he has by his labor and example done so much to 
bring about. 



